A  NOVEL 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


6, 


T        AO^U 


UNFETTERED. 


A   NOVEL. 


SUTTON  E.  GRIGGS, 


Author  of  *4  IMPERIUM  IN  IMPERIO,"  "OVERSHADOWED/' 
44  DORLAN'S  PLAN,"  Etc. 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.: 

THE   ORION   PUBLISHING   COMPANY. 
1902. 


COPYRIGHT 
SOTTON    E.    GRIGGSo 

19O2, 


DEDICATION. 

While   a  last   beloved  sister 
MARY, 

Was,   with  patience  and  fortitude,    awaiting  the 

slow   but    certain   tread  of  the   Grim   Reaper, 

she  spared  strength  enough  to  read,   from 

beginning     to     end,    "Overshadowed," 

that  came  to  greet  her  ere  she  sped 

to   the  home  of  the  departed. 

Were  she  mindful  of  happenings  on   the 

earth   to-day  the  author  of  this  volume   would 

be  sure  of  at  least  one  sympathetic  reader. 

To  her  memory   "Unfettered"   is 

affectionately  dedicated. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


"The  chains  that  bound  the  body  *  *  were  as  tender 
Chords  of  mercy  compared  with  the  shackles  that  gyved 
his  mind  *  *  ."—Kelky  Miller. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 


On  a  sad  occasion  in  days  gone  by,  the  people 
of  the  United  States  were  called  upon  to  deal  with 
the  Negro's  woes,  and  in  the  haze  of  battle  there 
arose  to  thrill  the  hearts  of  men  a  Fort  Sumter,  a 
Bull  Run,  a  Gettysburg,  and,  at  last,  an  Appomat- 
tox. 

Since  those  pregnant  days,  in  spite  of  a  seeming 
retrogression  in  some  quarters,  there  has  been  a 
steady,  unbroken  march  of  the  Negro  in  an  upward 
direction.  One  day  our  great  nation  that  once 
dealt  with  the  Negro's  woes  will  be  summoned  to 
deal  with  his  strength,  to  kindly  accept  or  finally 
reject  all  that  he  can  do. 

As  the  day  of  final  adjustment  is  inevitable,  it 
is  wise  for  all  of  us  who  love  our  country  to  make  a 
study  of  the  internal  workings  of  a  race  now 
shaking  itself  loose  from  the  death  sleep  of  the 
ages. 

It  is  the  aim  of  "  UNFETTERED"  to  lead  the 
reader  into  the  inner  life  of  the  Negro  race  and  lay 

bare  the  aspirations  that  are  fructifying  there. 

(5) 


6  PREFACE. 

Those  who  come  to  these  pages  in  quest  of  pen 
pictures  of  either  angels  or  demons,  are  not  likely 
to  find  what  they  seek,  for  our  story  has  to  do  with 
human  beings,  simply.  That  is,  we  should  say, 
with  the  exception  of — but  you  will  make  your 
own  exceptions  when  the  tale  is  fully  told. 

THE  AUTHOR, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.  AN  ANGLO-SAXON'S  DEATH    11 

II.  "ANEW  KING  .  .  .  WHICH  KNEW  NOT  JOSEPH"  15 

III.  A  FALLEN   MAN  SHOOTS 22 

IV.  THE  CLANS  GATHER 29 

V.  BREEDS  TROUBLE  FOR  AFTER  YEARS 37 

VI.  AN  ACT  OF  WHICH  NOBODY  IS  PROUD 46 

VII.  A  MAN  AGAINST  A  REGIMENT 54 

VIII.  THE  HINT  NOT  TAKEN 62 

IX.  DORIAN    WARTHEl.lv 70 

X.  CUPID  SHOULD  BE  MORE  CAREFUL 73 

XI.  A  STORMY  INTERVIEW 78 

XII.  MORLENE  AND  DORIAN 83 

XIII.  A  WHOLE  CITY  STIRRED 92 

XIV.  BLOODWORTH  AT  WORK 101 

XV.  HARRY  BECOMES  A  TOOL 106 

XVI.  A  WOMAN  AROUSED Ill 

XVII.  CLANDESTINELY,  YET  IN  HONOR 121 

XVIII.  WHO  WINS?...   126 

XIX.  THE  SCENE  SHIFTS 134 

XX.  THE  BYSTANDERS  CHEER 142 

XXI.  TO  BEGIN  LIFE  ANEW,  AS  IT  WERE 149 

XXII.  EXCUSABLE    RUDENESS 153 

XXIII.  A  STREET  PARADE 160 

XXIV.  GOING  FORTH  TO  UNFETTER 169 

XXV.  TONY    MARSHALL 179 

XXVI.  A  MORNING    RIDE 185 

XXVII.  THEY  FEAR  EACH  OTHER 189 

XXVIII.  "O  DEATH,  WHERE  IS  THY  STING?". ', 194 

XXIX.  IN  THE  BALANCES 201 

XXX.  THE  TELEGRAM    207 

(7) 


8  CONTENTS. 

DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

PAGE. 

FOREWORD 219 

WHERE  THE  TROUBLE  ARISES 223 

OUR  PROBLEM 225 

THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE  OPPOSITION 226 

STILL  IN  THE  BALANCES 228 

HE  WHO  HAS  HITHERTO  FOLLOWED  CALLED  UPON  TO  LEAD  231 

REVISITING  THE    ORIENT 233 

CLASPING  HANDS " 234 

RENOVATION 237 

WHERE  TO  BEGIN 239 

"THERE  is  NO  PLACE  LIKE  HOME'  ' 240 

RELIGION  A   FACTOR 244 

TO  WEAR  WELL  OUR  CROWN 245 

IN  THE  UPPER  REALMS 247 

"OF  MAKING  MANY  BOOKS  THERE  IS  NO  END" 249 

WE  EAT  TO  LIVE 251 

LITTLE  AFRICAS 253 

"YE  HAVE  THE  POOR  WITH  YOU  ALWAYS" 254 

THE  WINDS  HAVE  VEERED 255 

"THE  FIELD  is  THE  WORLD" 256 

WHERE  THE  GALE  BLOWS    FIERCEST 257 

WITH  THE  HEN  GOES  HER  BROOD 265 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  OTHER  MAN 266 

OUR  LAST  FOE 269 

MIGHTIER  THAN  THE  SWORD 271 

THE  END  DRAWETH  NIGH .  .  274 


CHAPTER  I. 
AN  ANGLO-SAXON'S  DEATH. 

Gently  the  midsummer  breezes  rustled  the  green 
leaves  of  the  giant  oaks  and  towering  poplars  that 
stood  guard  over  the  Dal  ton  house,  which,  as 
though  spurning  their  protection,  rose  majestically 
above  them  and  commanded  a  splendid  view  of  the 
Tennessee  fields  and  woodlands,  stretching  far  out 
on  either  side  of  the  leisurely  flowing  Cumberland. 

The  subdued  whisperings  of  the  winds,  their  elf- 
like  tread  as  they  cautiously  crept  from  tree  top  to 
tree  top,  tended  to  create  the  suspicion  that  they 
were  aware  of  the  tragedy  which  their  mother, 
Nature,  was  so  soon  to  enact  within  the  walls  of 
the  house  around  which  we  now  see  them  hover- 
ing. 

In  a  sumptuously  furnished  room  of  this  mag- 
nificent structure,  Maurice  Dalton,  the  present 
owner  thereof,  lies  dying ;  battling  heroically  yet 
losingly  in  that  last,  inevitable  conflict  which  he 
had  been  summoned  to  wage  with  the  forces  of  de- 
cay. The  head  of  this  dying  Anglo-Saxon  rests, 
in  these  its  last  moments,  on  the  bosom  of  Aunt 
Catherine,  an  aged  Negro  woman,  who  was  his 

(9) 


IO  UNFETTERED. 

first  and  loving  nurse  in  infancy,  and  has  been  his 
one  unswerving  friend  and  worshipper  in  all  of  his 
after  life. 

On  former  occasions,  when  disease  had  drawn 
him  to  the  edge  of  the  grave,  so  skillfully  did  Aunt 
Catherine  second  the  recuperative  work  of  nature 
that  he  was  led  back  to  life  and  health.  Now  that 
her  healing  art  has  failed  her,  she  sits  heartbroken, 
and,  like  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  refuses  to 
be  comforted.  No  mother  ever  loved  an  offspring 
with  greater  intensity  than  Aunt  Catherine  loved 
"  Maury,"  as  she  called  him. 

Near  to  Aunt  Catherine  stands  Lemuel  Dalton,  a 
nephew  and  the  sole  surviving  relative  of  Maurice 
Dalton.  Tall,  slender  and  well  featured,  he  was 
an  interesting  figure  at  any  time.  His  firm,  gray 
eyes  give  evidence  of  great  grief  over  the  approach- 
ing death  of  his  uncle,  although  the  death  of  this 
uncle  is  his  only  known  means  of  an  early  escape 
from  poverty. 

At  the  foot  of  the  bed  on  which  Maurice  Dalton 
lies,  stands  Morlene,  a  beautiful  girl  just  budding 
into  womanhood.  She  is  a  Negro,  although  her 
very  pleasing  complexion  is  so  light  as  to  give 
plain  evidence  of  a  strong  infusion  of  Anglo-Saxon 
blood. 

A  wealth  of  lovely  black  hair  crowning  a  head 
of  perfect  shape  and  queenly  poise  ;  a  face,  the  sub- 
tle charm  of  which  baffles  description ;  two  lus- 


UNFETTERED.  II 

trous  black  eyes,  wondrously  expressive,  presided 
over  by  eyebrows  that  were  ideally  beautiful ;  a 
neck  which,  with  infinite  regard  for  the  require- 
ments of  perfect  art,  descended  and  expanded  so  as 
to  form  part  of  a  faultless  bust ;  as  to  form,  mag- 
nificently well  proportioned ;  when  viewed  as  a 
whole,  the  very  essence  of  loveliness.  Such  was 
the  picture  of  Morlene,  who,  once  seen,  left  an 
image  'that  never  again  passed  from  the  mind  of 
the  beholder. 

Morlene's  bosom  is  just  now  the  abode  of  many 
surging  emotions.  She  views  in  a  dying  and 
speechless  state  the  person  who  alone  on  earth 
knows  the  secret  of  her  parentage.  Maurice  Dai- 
ton  had  promised  to  impart  this  information  to 
Morlene  at  some  time,  but  has  delayed  doing  so 
until  now  it  appears  to  be  too  late.  Add  to  the 
fact  that  Maurice  Dalton  is  carrying  to  the  silence 
of  the  grave  the  information  so  earnestly,  passion- 
ately desired  by  Morlene,  the  further  fact  that  he 
had  been  her  support,  protection,  and  sole  depend- 
ence from  earliest  infancy.  So  keen  had  been  his 
interest  in  Morlene  that  only  his  known  piety 
saved  him  from  the  suspicion  that  he  was  her 
father. 

In  addition  to  the  sense  of  personal  loss  that 
Morlene  is  to  sustain,  she  must  contend  with  her 
grief  over  the  approaching  death  of  a  man  whose 
sweetness  of  soul  and  fatherly  care  had  won  from 


12  UNFETTERED. 

her  almost  a  daughter's  love.  With  hands  clasped 
like  unto  one  supplicating,  she  strains  her  beauti- 
ful eyes,  as  if,  in  her  solicitude,  to  watch  the  soul 
along  the  whole  distance  of  its  flight  into  the  great 
unknown. 

Standing  here  and  there  in  the  room  are  dis- 
tinguished white  neighbors,  intimate  friends,  ready 
to  testify  that  the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all  is 
passing  away. 

In  an  adjoining  room,  still  other  white  neighbors 
are  recounting  in  undertones  the  many  noble  deeds 
performed  by  Maurice  Dalton.  Huddled  together 
under  the  trees  in  the  yard  to  the  back  of  the 
house  are  the  Negroes  of  this  and  other  planta- 
tions, who,  with  woeful  looks,  peer  anxiously  in 
the  direction  of  the  "  big  house,"  eager  for  news  as 
to  how  the  battle  was  going.  The  vitality  of  Mau- 
rice Dalton  was  surprisingly  great,  and  he  grappled 
with  this  "  last  of  foes"  far  longer  than  had  been 
deemed  possible.  Probably  it  was  his  unfulfilled 
promise  to  Morlene  that  caused  his  spirit  to  linger 
here  so  long  after  it  had  received  the  final  sum- 
mons. 

Morning  wore  away  into  the  afternoon.  The 
air  grew  humid  and  signs  of  coming  rain  multi- 
plied ;  yet  the  Negroes  stood  their  ground,  deter- 
mined to  be  as  near  as  possible  to  their  beloved 
landlord  in  the  supreme  moment. 


UNFETTERED.  13 

Dark  clouds  which,  ascending  from  the  horizon, 
had  been  curtaining  the  skies,  now  passed  beneath 
the  sun,  intercepted  his  kindly  rays  and  journeyed 
onward  until  not  a  patch  of  blue  was  anywhere  to 
be  seen.  Excitedly  the  lightning  displayed  his 
fierce  glance  in  the  disturbed  heavens,  first  here 
and  then  there,  and  the  occasional  mutterings  of 
the  thunders  were  heard. 

The  Negroes  at  last  mustered  sufficient  courage 
to  make  the  attempt  to  have  Maurice  Dalton  to  die, 
if  die  he  must,  in  what  they  regarded  as  the  ideal 
manner.  Any  Negro  that  could  die  "happy,"  die 
in  the  midst  of  a  frenzy  of  joyous  emotions,  was 
deemed  by  the  mass  of  Negroes  as  assured  of  an 
entrance  into  heaven.  In  order  to  produce  this 
condition  of  ecstasy,  they  would  gather  about  the 
bedside  of  the  dying  and  sing  such  songs  as  were 
calculated  to  deeply  stir  the  emotions  of  the  pass- 
ing one.  They  now  concluded  to  use  their  sing- 
ing upon  Maurice  Dalton.  Leaving  the  shelter  of 
the  trees  they  all  drew  near  to  the  house  and  stood 
under  a  window  of  the  room  in  which  lay  the  dy- 
ing man. 

In  plaintive  tones,  low,  timorous  and  wavering 
at  first,  then  louder  and  bolder,  in  sweetest  melody, 
they  sang: 

"  Swing  low,  sweet  chariot, 
Cum  fur  ter  carry  me  home ; 
Swing  low,  sweet  chariot, 
Cum  fur  to  carry  me  home." 


14  UNFETTERED. 

Ofttimes  as  a  boy  Maurice  Dalton  had  stood  on 
the  outer  edge  of  Negro  open  air  camp  meetings 
and  had  heard,  with  deep  emotion,  this  chant ; 
and  as  the  music  now  comes  floating  into  his  room 
his  paroxysms  cease,  a  smile  plays  upon  his  face 
which,  though  wasted,  is  handsome  still. 

Suddenly  he  sat  bolt  upright  in  his  bed. 
u  Hush  ! "  said  he,  feebly  waving  his  hand,  as  he 
turned  his  ear  in  an  attitude  of  listening.  "  Did 
they  say  the  chariot  had  come?"  he  enquired  of 
the  weeping  Aunt  Catherine.  Casting  a  faint  look 
of  recognition  on  those  who  stood  near  him,  he 
fell  back  upon  the  bosom  of  Aunt  Catherine — a 
corpse. 

The  wild  cry  of  anguish  that  escaped  the  lips  of 
Aunt  Catherine  told  its  own  story  to  the  Negroes 
in  the  yard.  The  singing  ceased  and  they  turned 
to  go.  Tears  were  falling  from  their  eyes,  and 
Nature,  as  if  in  sympathy,  began  to  weep  also. 
In  after  days  the  minds  of  the  Negroes  oft  reverted 
to  the  darkness  and  gloominess  and  utter  dreari- 
ness of  the  day  when  Maurice  Dalton  died. 


CHAPTER  II. 

UA  NEW  KING.    .    .WHICH  KNEW  NOT  JOSEPH." 

"  Morlene,  you  and  Catherine  will  come  into  the 
library  as  soon  as  your  breakfast  duties  are  over." 

Such  was  a  command  addressed  to  Morlene  by 
Lemuel  Dalton  while  he  was  sitting  at  the  break- 
fast table  in  the  Dalton  house,  a  few  days  subse- 
quent to  the  happenings  recorded  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

Morlene  passed  out  of  the  dining  room  into  the 
kitchen  to  tell  Aunt  Catherine  what  Lemuel  Dal- 
ton had  said.  But  Aunt  Catherine  had  heard  for 
herself  and  was  so  much  agitated  by  what  she 
thought  were  sinister  purposes  revealed  by  his  tone 
of  voice,  that  she  began  to  tremble  violently.  A 
plate  which  she  was  washing  fell  to  the  floor  and 
broke,  whereupon  she  whispered  to  Morlene  in 
tremulous  tones  : 

11  Dar,  now !  I  shuah  knows  dar  is  trubble 
brewin'  'round  'bout  heah.  Las'  night  I  drempt 
'bout  snakes  an'  didn't  git  to  kill  'um.  All  dis 
mornin'  my  right  eye  hez  been  jumpin'  fit  to  kill, 
an*  now  I  dun  broke  dis  plate.  Wen  hez  Aunt 
Catherine  broke  er  plate  afo*  dis?  Shuah's  yer 
bawn,  chile,  dar  is  trubble  brewin'  in  dis  l  neck  ub 

(15) 


l6  UNFETTERED. 

de  woods.'  "  In  a  still  lower  whisper  she  said  :  "  I 
wondah  whut  debbilmint  our  young  marster's  got 
in  his  he'd  tersen'  fur  us?'* 

Morlene,  who  was  also  apprehensive,  shook  her 
head  slowly,  signifying  that  the  master  was  an 
enigma  to  her  as  well. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes,  Aunt  Cather- 
ine and  Morlene  repaired  to  the  library,  where 
they  found  Lemuel  Dalton  tilted  back  in  his  desk 
chair,  his  hands  clasped  behind  his  head.  Turn- 
ing the  gaze  of  his  gray  eyes  full  upon  Aunt 
Catherine  and  Morlene,  who  were  sitting  together, 
he  began  : 

u  Both  of  you  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  I  am 
now  the  proprietor  of  this  place.  I  have  one  more 
task  which  I  wish  to  perform  as  plain  Lemuel  Dal- 
ton. I  will  be  rid  of  that  task  to-clay,  I  think. 
To-morrow  I  intend  assuming  charge  here.  I  shall 
have  no  Negroes  whatever  about  me,  and  the  two 
of  you  will  please  prepare  to  leave  when  I  take 
charge  to-morrow." 

Aunt  Catherine  groaned  audibly  at  the  announce- 
ment and  her  dilated  eyes  showed  that  she  viewed 
the  suggestion  with  a  species  of  horror.  Morlene 
was  self-contained,  being  careful  not  to  exhibit  any 
emotion,  if  she  felt  any.  Lemuel  Dalton,  desirous 
of  preventing  an  outburst  of  grief  from  Aunt  Cath- 
erine, hastened  to  say : 


UNFETTERED.  17 

"  You  will  go  from  the  place  well  provided  for. 
J  find,  according  to  my  uncle's  memorandum,  that 
there  are  six  hundred  and  forty-eight  dollars  to 
your  credit,  money  which  was  due  you,  but  not 
called  for  by  you.  I  notice  that  you  have  been 
accustomed  to  give  largely  to  objects  of  charity, 
else  this  sum  to  your  credit  would  be  the  larger. 
You  will  find  the  amount  in  this  package."  So 
saying,  he  lightly  tossed  the  package  into  her 
lap. 

"  Morlene,  I  find  a  note  in  my  uncle's  memoran- 
dum which  states  that  you  are  entitled  to  be  cared 
for  by  the  Dalton  estate  so  long  as  you  live.  I 
know  not  what  is  the  ground  of  your  claim,  nor  do 
I  care  to  know.  I  shall  see  to  it  that  you  do  not 
suffer.  Understand,  however,  that  you  will  al- 
ways apply  to  my  lawyers  for  aid  and  not  to  me. 
With  this  one  thousand  dollars  which  I  now ,  hand 
to  you,  our  personal  dealings  come  to  a  close." 

He  tossed  the  package  of  money,  which  was  in 
currency,  toward  Morlene,  but  she  took  pains  to 
see  that  it  fell  upon  the  floor  and  not  upon  her  lap. 
This  was  done  so  adroitly  that  Lemuel  Dalton  did 
not  know  but  that  the  failure  of  the  package  to 
reach  its  destination  was  due  to  his  poor  marks- 
manship. 

Aunt  Catherine  asked  in  broken  tones  :  "  Marse 
Lemuel,  will  yer  'mit  me  ter  say  er  word  ?  " 


I 8  UNFETTERED. 

A  frown  of  impatience  appeared  upon  Lemuel 
Dalton's  brow,  but  he  nodded  assent. 

Aunt  Catherine  stood  up  and  began  : 

"  Marse  Lemuel,  I  wuz  bawned  on  dis  place.  I 
wuz  brung  up  hear  ez  a  chile,  and  all  de  fun  an' 
frolics  I  ebber  hed  wuz  right  heah.  Marse  an'  mis- 
sus 'lowed  me  an'  my  ole  man  ter  marry  heah.  It 
was  in  front  ub  dis  very  house  whar  us,  my  ole  man 
an'  me,  jumpt  ober  de  brum  stick  es  a  marrige  ceri- 
mony.  Since  I  hez  been  an  'oman  ebry  baby 
bawn  in  dis  hous'  hez  cum  in  ter  dese  arms  fust. 
Yer  own  daddy  Erasmus  wuz  one  ob  um,  an'  a 
lackly  littul  fellah  he  wuz,  too.  Dese  hans  you  see 
heeh  hez  shrouded  de  Dalton  dead  since  I  ken  ricer- 
mimber.  Durin'  war  times,  w'en  udder  darkies  wuz 
brakin'  dey  necks  ter  go  ter  de  Yankees,  I  staid 
right  by  missus  an'  I'se  been  in  dis  house  ebber 
since. 

"  Nachally,  Marse  Lemuel,  I  lubs  dis  spot.  I  jes' 
doan'  know  nuthin'  else.  I  hed  hoped  to  die  heah 
an'  be  bur'i'd  at  de  feet  ub  missus,  for  she  promis' 
me  wid  her  dyin'-  bref  ter  let  me  wait  fur  de  trump 
ub  Gabrul  by  her  side.  Now,  Marse  Lemuel,  doan' 
dribe  me  erway.  I'll  wuck  an'  not  charge  nary 
cent.  I  wants  to  stay  whar  I  ken  plant  flowers  on 
de  grave  ub  Maury  an'  d2  rest.  Gib  me  er  cot  an' 
let  me  sleep  in  de  ole  barn  lof  whar  I  played  ez  er 
gal ;  but  doan'  dribe  me  erway." 

Here  Aunt  Catherine  burst  forth  into  sobbing. 


UNFETTERED.  19 

Lemuel  Dalton's  frown  deepened.  He  arose  and 
walked  to  the  window,  his  back  to  Aunt  Catherine, 
who  now  dropped  upon  her  knees  to  pray  for  God 
to  reinforce  her  plea. 

Lemuel  turned,  and  discovering  Aunt  Catherine 
in  an  attitude  of  prayer,  said:  u  That  is  all  un- 
necessary, Catherine.  My  mind  is  made  up.  I  do 
not  mean  to  be  unkind,  but  I  simply  shall  not  have 
Negroes  about  me." 

Aunt  Catherine  finished  her  prayer  and  arose. 
Taking  the  money  which  Lemuel  Dal  ton  had  given 
her,  she  said  in  gentle  tones  :  "  Whut  I  did  fur  our 
folkses  wuz  fur  lub.  You  shan't  spile  my  lub  by 
payin'  me  fur  whut  I  hez  dun."  So  saying,  she 
walked  over  to  Lemuel  Dalton  in  an  humbje  atti- 
tude and  dropped  the  package  of  money  at  his  feet. 
She  then  turned  and  went  slowly  and  disconsolate- 
ly out  of  the  room,  her  head  drooping  as  she  shuf- 
fled along. 

Morlene,  who  had  manifested  great  self-control 
during  the  whole  of  the  affecting  scene,  now  arose 
and  boldly  faced  Lemuel  Dalton. 

"  Sir,"  said  she,  her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  "  it 
takes  no  prophet  to  foretell  that  terrible  sorrows 
await  you !  He  who  ignores  human  emotions, 
will  find  many  in  this  world  more  than  a  match 
for  him  at  his  own  game  !  As  for  the  money  which 
you  gave  me,  I  shall  not  touch  one  penny  of  it. 
Really,  I  do  not  care  to  have  my  life  linked  by 


20  UNFETTERED. 

means  of  the  smallest  thread  to  a  man  who  shall 
come  forth  from  the  c  mills  of  the  gods '  ground  as 
you  will  be.  You  have  not  my  anger,  sir,  but  my 
most  profound  pity."  So  saying,  she,  too,  left  the 
room. 

Lemuel  Dalton  was  seized  with  a  nameless,  inde- 
finable terror,  that  caused  his  blood  to  grow  chill ; 
and  in  that  instant  the  consciousness  came  to  him 
with  the  certainty  of  a  revelation  that  Morlene  had 
spoken  the  truth.  But  this  feeling  only  remained 
for  a  few  seconds.  It  was  but  a  forerunner,  years 
ahead  of  its  time.  He  cast  it  off,  seeking  to  assure 
himself  that  belief  in  a  premonition  was  but  an  idle 
superstition.  When  he  had  fully  recovered  his 
composure  he  said  : 

"Now,  I  like  that  plucky  spirit  manifested  by 
the  girl.  Give  me,  every  time,  the  haughty  suffer- 
er, too  proud  to  crouch  beneath  the  lash  even 
when  its' sting  is  keenest.  I  want  none  of  your 
whining  suppliants.  A  plague  on  these  Negroes 
who  meet  injury  with  woe-begone  expressions. 
That  sort  of  thing  tends  to  make  the  Anglo-Saxon 
chicken-hearted  in  dealing  with  them.  The  more 
a  Negro  whines  and  supplicates  the  worse  I  hate 
him.  But  I  tell  you  I  like  the  spirit  of  that  girl." 
Such  was  Lemuel  Dalton's  soliloquy. 

"  But  other  tasks  await  me,"  he  said.  Taking  a 
pistol  from  his  hip  pocket,  he  thoroughly  examined 
it  to  see  that  it  was  in  prime  condition  in  every 


UNFETTERED.  21 

respect.  Satisfied  on  this  score,  he  put  it  back  into 
the  pocket  from  which  he  had  taken  it.  Going  out 
to  the  stable,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away, 
taking  the  road  that  had  been  made  to  pass  through 
and  connect  the  several  parts  of  the  vast  Dalton 
estate.  On  every  side  of  him  were  tokens  of  what 
the  forces  of  nature  were  doing  for  him.  The  earth 
holding  in  her  bosom  the  roots  of  acres  of  Indian 
corn,  was  yielding  up  her  substance  that  the  grain 
might  ripen  unto  harvest.  The  stalks  were  bravely 
bearing  the  swelling  ears.  The  beautiful  drooping 
blades  drank  in  the  contributions  that  the  sun  and 
the  air  had  to  bestow. 

Thus  all  nature  was  at  one  working  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  future  master  of  the  Dalton  place.  But 
he  had  no  eye  for  nature's  loving  panorama.  A 
master  passion  had  his  soul  within  its  grasp. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  FALLEN  MAN  SHOOTS. 

About  one  dozen  years  prior  to  the  time  of  the 
beginning  of  our  story,  Lemuel  Dalton,  then  a  lad, 
was  fishing  on  the  banks  of  a  body  of  water  known 
as  "  Murray's  Pond.n  The  scene  surrounding 
it  was  one  of  extreme  loveliness,  and  Lemuel, 
though  a  child,  was  yet  poet  enough  to  be  silent 
while  nature  was  speaking  to  him  so  eloquently 
and  yet  so  soothingly.  There  was  the  shining  sun 
above  bathing  the  scene  with  its  summer  warmth. 
There  were  the  trees  standing  around,  lazily  luxu- 
riant, surfeited.  Wild  flowers  of  varied  hues  were 
present  in  great  profusion,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"See,  this  is  not  so  bad  a  world  after  all,  else  we 
could  not  be  here."  The  trees  that  stood  near  to 
the  pond  cast  their  shadows  upon  its  clear  waters 
and  saw  with  satisfaction  themselves  mirrored 
therein.  A  few  cows  had  come  to  the  pond  and 
stood  in  one  section  thereof,  the  embodiment  of 
contentment,  leisurely  tinkling  their  bells.  Lem- 
uel was  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  this 
scene. 

A  Negro  boy,  about  Lemuel's  age,  but  much 
larger,  was  fishing  on  the  other  side  of  the  pond. 
(22) 


J 


UNFETTERED.  23 

The  scenery  had  no  charms  for  this  boy,  who> 
tiring  of  the  monotony  of  unsuccessful  angling,  de- 
cided to  leave  his  side  of  the  pond  and  engage  in  a 
conversation  with  Lemuel. 

When  he  drew  near,  Lemuel  paid  no  attention 
to  him,  not  so  much  as  casting  a  glance  in  his  di- 
rection. 

Nothing  daunted  by  this  seeming  indifference, 
the  Negro  boy  attempted  to  start  up  a  conversa- 
tion. "Good  place  to  fish,  ain't  it  ?"  he  said. 

Not  a  muscle  in  Lemuel's  face  moved. 

Drawing  a  little  closer,  the  Negro  boy  touched 
Lemuel  on  the  shoulder,  and  with  a  smile  said, 
"Good  place  to  fish,  ain't  it?" 

Lemuel  moved  away,  neither  speaking  to  nor 
looking  at  the  boy. 

The  Negro  boy  now  got  angry,  and,  throwing 
his  fishing  pole  across  his  shoulder,  started  away, 
saying  with  a  sort  of  lilt  that  resembled  singing  : 

"  I  like  sugar, 
I  like  hash, 
I'd  rather  be  a  nigger 
Than  poor  white  trash." 

This  was  the  taunting  reply  used  by  Negro  chil- 
dren to  avenge  insults,  real  or  imaginary,  coming 
from  white  children.  It  was  tantamount  to  a  dec- 
laration of  war,  and  was  everywhere  regarded  as  a 
casus  belli,  and  Lemuel  Dalton  accepted  it  as  such. 


24  UNFETTERED. 

He  sprang  to  his  feet  and  was  soon  engaged  in  a 
fisticuff  with  the  Negrc  boy,  who,  however,  proved 
to  be  his  superior  and  signally  defeated  him. 

Lemuel  Dalton,  the  man,  is  on  his  way  to  see 
this  Negro,  now  also  a  man.  It  is  his  purpose  to 
settle  this  old  score  before  assuming  charge  of  his 
estate  on  the  morrow.  We  shall  now  acquaint  you 
more  fully  with  his  prospective  antagonist. 

There  lived  on  the  Dalton  estate  a  Negro  of  mid- 
dle age  and  medium  height,  who  bore  the  name  of 
Stephen  Dalton.  In  his  youth  he  was  a  slave  of 
the  Dalton's  and  remained  on  the  place  after  the 
coming  of  freedom.  Sober,  industrious,  thrifty, 
thoroughly  honest,  peaceably  inclined,  he  enjoyed 
to  a  remarkable  degree  the  esteem  of  the  white 
and  colored  people  of  all  classes. 

Maurice  Dalton  was  only  nominally  the  head  of 
the  Dalton  estate,  the  practical  operations  of  his 
farming  affairs  being  entrusted  to  the  care  of  this 
Negro,  Stephen  Dalton. 

Stephen  Dalton's  household  consisted  of  him- 
self, a  son  and  a  daughter,  his  wife  being  dead. 
It  was  this  son,  who  years  ago,  had  had  the  fight 
with  L/emuel  Dalton.  Harry  Dalton,  for  such  was 
the  son's  name,  was  now  a  very  handsome,  vig- 
orous looking  young  man.  He  was  conscious  of 
his  acceptable  personal  appearance  and  was  some- 
what vain.  This  vanity  was  not  lessened,  of 
course,  by  his  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he  was 


UNFETTERED.  25 

the  best  farm  hand  in  all  that  section  of  country. 
He  was,  however,  very  companionable,  and  his 
uniformly  cheerful  disposition  made  him  a  sort  of 
favorite  with  all,  in  spite  of  his  touch  of  vanity 
He  had  attended  the  public  school  located  in  his 
vicinity,  and  while  not  very  proficient,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  mastering  about  all  that  the  teacher  could 
impart. 

On  this  particular  day  Harry  has  abandoned  his 
field  duties,  and,  watched  by  his  very  devoted  sis- 
ter, Beulah,  is  engaged  in  practice  in  order  that  he 
may  be  in  prime  condition  for  the  sports  incident 
to  the  coming  of  an  excursion  from  the  neighbor- 
ing city  to  a  nearby  grove.  Harry  was  the  cham- 
pion runner,  jumper,  boxer  and  baseball  player,  and 
was  quite  eager  to  maintain  his  proud  distinction. 

Beulah,  who  stood  in  the  doorway  of  the  three- 
room  farm  house  in  which  they  lived,  said  to 
Harry,  "Look  behind  you!  Yonder  comes  old 
Lemuel  Dalton  !  " 

Harry  glanced  over  his  shoulder,  but  did  not  de- 
sist from  his  practice. 

Lemuel  Dalton  rode  up  to  where  Harry  was, 
dismounted,  hitched  his  horse,  and  came  directly 
in  front  of  Harry. 

Since  their  fight  at  Murray's  Pond  the  two  had 
not  spoken  to  each  other,  and  both  now  understood 
that  a  fight  was  to  ensue.  In  a  biting  tone  Lem- 
uel Dalton  began  : 


26  tJNFETTEREt). 

"  I  suppose  you  know  that  I  am  owner  of  this 
place.  I  have  come  to  lay  down  my  law  to  you. 
You  are  the  leading  sport  on  the  place.  Regard- 
less of  the  condition  of  crops  you  quit  to  go  to  pic- 
nics, shows,  dances,  camp  meetings,  funerals,  and 
on  every  excursion  that  comes  along.  Your  ex- 
ample is  demoralizing  to  the  whole  farm.  I  as- 
sume charge  of  this  place  to-morrow,  and  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  you  cannot  go  to  the  pic- 
nic scheduled  for  that  day." 

Harry  was  fairly  enraged  that  a  white  man 
should  speak  to  him  as  though  he  were  a  slave. 
Before  he  could  suppress  his  anger  enough  to  trust 
himself  to  speak,  Beulah  cried  out  from  the  door : 

u  Don't  that  beat  you  ?  Some  poot  white  trash 
that  gets  places  by  the  death  of  their  uncles  don't 
know  that  Grant  whipped  Lee  and  Jeff  Davis  was 
hung  to  a  sour  apple  tree." 

Quivering  with  rage,  Lemuel  Dalton  said  to 
Harry  :  "  You  apologize  for  what  that  girl  has 
said." 

*'  She  has  spoken  my  sentiments,"  said  Harry. 

The  two  now  began  to  prepare  for  battle.  Lem- 
uel Dalton  advanced  toward  Harry  and  began  the 
conflict  with  a  stinging  blow  on  Harry's  left  cheek. 
The  battle  was  then  on  in  earnest.  Harry  had  the 
advantage  in  point  of  native  strength.  Lemuel's 
reach  was  longer  than  that  of  Harry,  and  he  was 
by  far  the  more  skillful.  He  had  for  years  been 


taking  boxing  lessons  secretly,  that  he  might  be 
prepared  for  this  very  occasion.  Lemuel  Dalton 
had  the  further  advantage  of  coolness.  Harry,  al- 
lowing his  emotions  of  anger  to  influence  him  too 
largely,  struck  out  wildly  and  thus  dissipated 
much  of  his  strength.  Lemuel's  wariness  in  evad- 
ing Harry's  onslaughts  and  skill  in  delivering 
blows  added  to  Harry's  irritation. 

As  the  battle  progressed  it  began  to  dawn  on 
Harry  that  somehow  he  had  met  with  more  than 
his  match.  The  thought  of  being  defeated  by 
Lemuel  and  in  the  presence  of  Beulah  was  too 
galling,  and  Harry  determined  to  prevent  such  an 
outcome  at  all  hazards.  In  a  fit  of  exasperation, 
and  in  return  for  a  well  aimed  blow  from  Lemuel, 
Harry  delivered  a  powerful  kick  in  his  abdomen. 
Lemuel  staggered  backward  and  fell  to  the  ground, 
Harry  rushing  toward  him. 

"Is  that  your  game?"  shouted  Lemuel.  Half 
raising  himself  by  means  of  his  left  elbow,  with 
his  right  hand  he  drew  his  pistol  in  time  to  shoot 
Harry  just  as  the  latter  was  about  to  throw  himself 
upon  him.  Harry  now  fell  to  the  ground  seri- 
ously wounded. 

Beulah  came  rushing  to  Harry's  side  screaming 
loudly. 

"That  comes  of  insulting  poor  white  trash,'* 
said  Lemuel  Dalton,  as  he  mounted  his  horse.  As 
he  turned  to  go  he  cast  a  look  of  triumph  and  con- 


tempt  at  the  wounded  Negro  and  his  screaming 
sister.  Beulah's  cries  brought  help  from  the  field 
near  by,  and  strong  hands  bore  Harry  into  the 
house. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CLANS  GATHER. 

News  of  the  fight  between  Lemuel  Dalton  and 
Harry  Dalton  soon  spread  throughout  .the  sur- 
rounding regions.  The  diffusion  of  news  was  so 
rapid  because  in  the  country  each  person  regarded 
himself  as  a  courier  in  duty  bound  to  convey  word 
to  his,  immediate  neighbors.  The  white  farmers 
abandoned  their  tasks,  armed  themselves  and  hur- 
ried to  the  Dalton  house. 

At  nightfall  the  Negro  farm  hands  from  far  and 
near  hastened  to  Stephen  Dalton's  home,  secreting 
in  their  clothes  such  weapons  as  pistols,  hatchets, 
razors,  bowie  knives,  clubs,  etc. 

Thus,  what  was  originally  a  personal  encounter 
between  two  individuals  contained  the  germs  of  a 
race  war. 

When  a  sufficient  number  of  the  whites  had  gath- 
ered at  the  Dalton  house  to  justify  it,  an  informal 
meeting  was  held  in  the  large  front  room.  'Squire 
Mullen,  a  short,  fat  man,  with  a  face  of  full  length 
but  somewhat  narrower  than  it  might  have  been,  as- 
sumed the  leadership  of  the  meeting.  His  upper 
lip  was  shaved  clean,  while  his  chin  supported  a 


30  UNFETTERED. 

beard  about  three  inches  long.  He  spoke  in  a 
quick,  jerky  fashion,  addressing  Lemuel  Dal  ton  in 
the  name  of  the  assemblage  as  follows  : 

"  We  have  heard  of  the  difficulty  between  yon 
and  one  of  the  darkeys  on  your  place.  We  have 
come  to  learn  from  you  the  particulars  about  it,  to 
find  out  just  what  action  must  be  taken  by  us.  We 
are  not  seeking  to  interfere  with  your  affairs,  but 
darkeys  must  be  made  to  feel  always  that  whatever 
any  one  of  them  does  to  one  white  man  is  consid- 
ered as  done  to  all  white  men;  we  shall  be  pleased, 
therefore,  to  receive  any  information  that  you  may 
see  fit  to  give." 

In  response  to  this  address  Lemuel  Dalton  gave 
to  the  assemblage  a  full  and  truthful  account  of 
the  happening.  When  he  was  through,  'Squire 
Mullen  sprang  to  his  feet  saying,  "  Permit  me,  sir, 
to  voice  the  sentiments  of  my  fellows.  We  did  not 
come  here  to  sit  in  judgment  on  your  action.  We 
came  here  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  motto,  which  is  summed  up  in  these  words, 
4  My  country,  may  she  be  always  right.  But, 
right  or  wrong,  my  country.'  We  came  here,  sir, 
to  take  up  your  cause;  but  your  account  shows  that 
you  have  struck  us  a  blow  in  the  face — square  in 
the  face." 

"  You  will,  of  course,  explain  your  remarks,"  in- 
terposed Lemuel  Dalton,  in  a  tone  which  signified 
his  non-acceptance  of  'Squire  Mullen's  view  of 
matters. 


UNFETTERED.  31 

"  Certainly,  certainly,  sir.  In  the  midst  of  cir- 
cumstances such  as  exist  in  the  South,  the  greatest 
force  that  makes  for  peace  is  the  cultivation  in  the 
white  man  of  a  sense  of  superiority  and  in  the  dar- 
key a  sense  of  inferiority.  Engender  in  the  darkey 
a  sense  of  his  inferiority  and  it  will  paralyze  his 
aggressiveness  and  do  more  to  keep  him  down 
than  a  standing  army.  What  we  practice  in  the 
South  is  racial  hypnotism.  We  erect  signs  every- 
where, notifying  the  darkey  of  his  inferiority.  To 
be  effective  this  work  must  be  co-operated  in  by 
practically  the  whole  body  of  white  men.  That's 
why  we  object  to  any  white  man's  attempt  to  dis- 
abuse the  Negro's  mind  of  this  sense  of  inferior- 
ity. You,  sir,  have  acted  in  a  manner  to  cause  us 
to  lose  the  aid  of  this  sense  of  inferiority  in  deal- 
ing with  our  darkeys.  You  have  made  our  task  of 
controlling  them  the  harder.  You  have  thus  done 
us  harm  and  the  darkeys  harm." 

"  You  have  not  yet  shown  how  my  actions  trans- 
gress your  mode  of  procedure,"  said  Lemuel  Dai- 
ton. 

"  Why,  sir,  you  fought  the  darkey  on  terms  of 
equality.  You  fought  him  man  to  man.  You 
should  have  sat  on  your  horse  and  scolded  him.  If 
he  had  spoken  insultingly,  you  should  have  used 
your  horsewhip  on  him.  If  he  had  proven  danger- 
ous, it  was  your  duty  to  have  shot  him  without 
further  ado.  A  fisticuff  between  a  white  man  and. 


32  UNFETTERED. 

a  darkey  savors  too  much  of  equality,  a  feeling 
that  must  be  kept  out  of  the  Negro  at  all  hazards." 

u  Permit  me  to  add  a  word,"  requested  a  feeble- 
voiced  young  man,  rising  in  a  most  timid  manner, 
rubbing  his  hands  together  nervously. 

'Squire  Mullen  gave  him  a  reassuring  look  and 
he  proceeded. 

"  I  simply  wish  to  reinforce  what  'Squire  Mullen 
has  said  by  a  historical  incident.-  On  a  certain  oc- 
casion when  the  Scythians  were  returning  from  a 
war  in  which  they  had  been  engaged,  they  received 
news  that  the  servants  whom  they  had  left  behind 
had  mutinied  and  taken  possession  of  the  city  and 
the  households  of  their  former  masters.  The 
Scythians  were  preparing  to  attack  the  slaves  with 
a  full  accoutrement  of  arms  when  one  of  their 
number  protested.  He  told  his  fellows  that  the 
best  way  to  conquer  the  slaves  was  to  discard  arms 
and  go  with  whips  simply.  He  held  that  arms 
would  suggest  equality,  while  whips  would  be  a 
reminder  to  the  slaves  as  to  what  they  were.  The 
experiment  succeeded  and  the  Scythians  effected  a 
re-enslavement  without  any  bloodshed.  So,  I  agree 
with  'Squire  Mullen  that  it  is  a  great  help  to  supe- 
riors to  keep  alive  in  inferiors  a  well  developed 
sense  of  their  inferiority.  It  certainly  helps  to 
keep  them  in  subjection.  The  Scythian  whips, 
which  had  as  an  aid  the  feeling  of  inferiority,  were 
more  successful  than  arms  would  have  been,  carry- 
ing along  with  them  the  idea  of  equality. 


UNFETTERED.  33 

"A  profound  thinker  of  our  day  sets  forth  this 
idea  in  these  words  : 

uc  There  are  the  respective  mental  traits  pro- 
duced by  daily  exercise  of  power  and  by  daily  sub- 
mission to  power.  The  ideas,  and  sentiments,  and 
modes  of  behavior,  perpetually  repeated,  generate 
on  the  one  side  an  inherited  fitness  for  command, 
and  on  the  other  side  an  inherited  fitness  for  obedi- 
ence ;  with  the  result  that,  in  course  of  time,  there 
arises  on  both  sides  the  belief  that  the  established 
relations  of  classes  are  the  natural  ones.' " 

The  young  man  dropped  into  his  seat  and  looked 
around  rather  bashfully  and  wistfully,  hoping  that 
he  would  be  regarded  as  having  made  an  accepta- 
ble contribution  to  the  dominant  thought  of  the 
occasion. 

All  eyes  were  now  directed  to  Lemuel  Dalton, 
awaiting  his  reply. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  ;<  if  you  will  but  go  a  lit- 
tle deeper  into  the  subject  you  will  see  that  my 
action  was  in  accordance  with  and  not  contrary  to 
the  philosophy  which  you  enunciate." 

There  was  a  slight  bustle  of  astonishment  at 
this  claim,  but  Lemuel  proceeded  without  regard 
thereto. 

"When  I  was  a  lad,  that  Negro  insulted  and  then 
beat  me.  No  doubt  he  carried  with  him  for  years 
the  thought  that  he  was  physically  my  superior. 
I  was  determined  to  wrest  from  him  this  concep- 


34  UNFETTERED. 

tion.  Had  I  proceeded  against  him  on  terms  which 
he  regarded  as  unfair,  he  would  not  have  inwardly 
restored  to  me  the  palm  which  he  wrested  from  me 
years  ago.  But,  proceeding  against  him  on  terms 
of  equality  as  I  did,  he  is  forced  to  acknowledge  in 
his  innermost  consciousness  that  I  am  physically 
his  superior.  I,  for  one,  think  that  we  white  men 
make  a  mistake  in  not  seeking  by  physical  culture 
to  maintain  even  our  physical  superiority.  I  am 
in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  Anglo-Saxon  superiority 
in  all  realms,  even  the  physical." 

'Squire  Mullen,  with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  came 
forward  and  grasped  Lemuel  Dalton  by  the  hand. 

"  We  understand  you  better  now,  sir.  We  are 
proud  of  you,  sir.  Lads,  hear  what  he  says.  In 
developing  brain  don't  forget  brawn.  The  darkey 
now  has  brawn.  His  strong  physique  and  repro- 
ductive powers,  show  that  he  is  in  the  world  to 
stay  to  the  end  of  time.  If,  in  the  years  to  come, 
he  adds  mental  to  physical  endowment,  we  may  be 
in  the  lurch  unless  we  take  care  of  the  physical  side- 
of  our  development.  Give  me  your  hand  again, 
sir,"  said  'Squire  Mullen,  once  more  shaking  hands 
with  Lemuel  Dalton. 

This  matter  having  been  disposed  of,  considera- 
tion was  now  given  to  Harry  and  Beulah.  It  was 
the  concensus  of  opinion  that  the  education  which 
Harry  and  Beulah  had  received  was  mainly  respon- 
sible for  what  the  whites  termed  "arrogant  as- 
sumption of  equality." 


UNFETTERED.  35 

The  advisability  and  inadvisability  of  educating 
the  Negro  was  gone  into  and  the  conclusion  reached 
that  the  only  safe  education  for  the  Negro  was  the 
education  that  taught  him  better  how  to  work.  It 
was  decided  that  Harry  had  been  punished  equita- 
bly for  his  offense  against  Lemuel  Dalton  as  an  in- 
dividual. They  held  that  something  must  be  done 
however,  to  avenge  the  insult  to  the  white  race 
perpetrated  when  one  of  their  number  was  assailed. 

As  a  result  of  their  deliberations,  lasting  well 
up  into  the  night,  it  was  decided  to  drive  Harry 
and  Beulah  out  of  the  settlement,  both  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  their  offense  and  as  a  warning  to  other 
Negroes  against  "impudence  towards  their  supe- 
riors. " 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Negroes  had  been  coming 
and  going  at  Stephen  Dalton's.  They  came  in 
part  from  curiosity,  in  part  to  see  if  they  were  in 
danger,  and  in  part  out  of  sympathy.  They  all 
listened  critically  to  Beulah's  recital  of  the  trouble. 

The  practically  unanimous  verdict  was  that  Beu- 
lah and  Harry  could  and  should  have  avoided  the 
conflict.  Arriving  at  this  conclusion  they  all  left, 
not  being  disposed  to  help  in  a  case  where  all.  of 
the  blame  was  not  on  the  white  man.  In  the 
dead  of  the  night  'the  whites  rode  up  to  the  house 
and  tacked  thereon  a  notice,  warning  Harry  and 
Beulah  Dalton  to  remove  from  the  settlement  for- 


36  UNFETTERED. 

ever  before  the  dawn  of  day  on  the  first  of  January 
of  the  incoming  year.  When  the  Negroes  heard  of 
this  decree  they  were  incensed. 

"  Ernnf  is  ernuf,"  said  one.  "An'  a  nigger  ain't 
er  dog.  'Twuz  ernuf  ter  shoot  de  nigger.  We 
didun't  do  miffm'  'bout  dat,  kase  de  niggers  wuz 
some'ut  ter  blame.  But  dey  ez  carrin'  de  thing  too 
fur.  Brnuf  is  ernuf  !  " 

This  sentiment  was  universal  among  the  Ne- 
groes, and  they  decided,  one  and  all,  to  retaliate  by 
leaving  the  settlement  along  with  Harry  and  Beu- 
lah. 

About  thirty  miles  distant  was  the  city  of  R , 

the  great  commercial  center  of  all  the  surrounding 
sections.  This  city  now  became  the  Mecca  of 
these  Negroes.  But  other  troubles  were  to  ensue 
ere  they  accomplished  their  design  to  enter  R . 


CHAPTER  V. 

BREEDS  TROUBLE  FOR  AFTER  YEARS. 

When  Lemuel  Dalton  rode  into  his  yard  fresh 
from  his  encounter  with  Harry  Dalton,  Aunt  Cath- 
erine and  Morlene  were  in  a  wagon  ready  to  be 
driven  to  the  city,  where  it  was  there  purpose  to 
dwell. 

Lemuel  Dalton  noticed  the  look  of  inquiry  which 
his  battered  appearance  evoked  from  Morlene's  ex- 
pressive eyes,  and,  as  if  to  prevent  her  from  think- 
ing that  he  had  been  worsted  and  that  her  prophe- 
cy was  already  coming  true,  said  in  a  haughty  tone: 
"  I  do  not  know  how  much  interest  a  knowledge 
of  the  fact  may  be  to  you,  yet,  I  inform  you  that 
I  have  just  shot  down  that  impudent  Negro,  Harry 
Dalton. 

Morlene  was  of  a  deeply  sympathetic  mould, 
and,  upon  receiving  this  information,  tears  came 
into  her  eyes.  Alighting  from  the  wagon,  she  said  : 
"Go!  Go!  Aunt  Catherine,  from  this  accursed  place. 
I  will  come  to  the  city  soon.  It  may  be  that  Harry 
is  not  killed.  If  I  can  save  his  life  I  can  ward  off 
that  much  of  the  terrible  debt  that  this  man  is  pil- 
ing up  against  himself."  Gathering  her  skirts 

(37) 


38  UNFETTERED. 

about  her,  weeping  as  she  ran,  she  arrived  at  Ste- 
phen Dalton's  house  and  assumed  charge  of  the 
nursing  of  Harry. 

Harry's  wound  was  an  exceedingly  dangerous 
one,  but  the  doctor's  skill,  supplemented  by  Mor- 
lene's  zealous  care,  eventually  brought  him  to  a 
stage  of  convalescence.  But  Morlene's  tenderness 
of  heart  had  brought  her  into  a  situation  where  un- 
foreseen complications  arose  to  sorely  disturb  her 
peace  of  mind. 

So,  soon  as  Harry  became  conscious  of  Morlene's 
presence  in  his  home  as  his  nurse,  he  began  to 
look  upon  his  being  shot  as  an  especially  kind  act 
on  the  part  of  providence.  From  early  childhood 
he  had  been  an  ardent  admirer  of  Morlene,  but  her 
Stay  at  the  Dalton  house  under  the  guardianship  of 
Maurice  Dalton,  had  caused  him  to  feel  that  there 
was  an  impassable  gulf  between  them.  He  had 
never  been  able  to  summon  sufficient  courage  to  go 
up  to  the  "  big  house"  with  the  intention  of  paying 
his  respects  to  Morlene.  He  now  entertained  not 
one  spark  of  ill  will  toward  L,emuel  Dalton  for 
shooting  him,  since  it  was  the  means  of  drawing 
Morlene  to  his  side.  The  scrupulous  care  and  great 
tenderness  exercised  by  her  in  the  nursing  of 
Harry,  were  construed  by  him  to  be  indications  of 
a  strong  attachment,  and  his  hopes  of  a  favorable 
outcome  of  his  suit  grew  greater  from  day  to  day, 
until  he  at  last  regarded  his  acceptance  as  an  as- 
sured fact. 


tJNFETTERED.  Q 

One  day,  after  he  was  able  to  sit  up,  he  bec&- , 
oned  for  Morlene  to  come  to  his  side,  intending  to } 
make   a   declaration  of  love.     Morlene  came  an^ 
looked  into  Harry's  face  tenderly,  awaiting  his  ripr 
quest,  which  she  presumed  would  be  upon  some 
matter  in  line  with  her  duties  as  a  nurse.     When 
Harry  looked  up  into  her  face,  so  tenderly  beauti- 
ful,  his  heart  failed  him.     "  Too  beautiful  for  a 
fellow  like  me,"   he  thought.     "  I  have  changed 
my  mind,  Miss  Dalton,"  said  Harry,  abandoning 
his  purpose  for  the  time  being. 

Morlene  looked  at  Harry  out  of  those  wondrous 
eyes  of  hers,  playfully  feigning  reproach,  shaking 
her  forefinger  at  him  the  while,  in  no  wise  dream- 
ing of  the  emotions  at  work  in  Harry's  bosom. 

The  day  at  last  came  when  Harry  found  himself 
possessing  sufficient  courage  to  make  a  declaration 
of  love.  It  was  indeed  a  rude  awakening  for  Mor- 
lene when  she  realized  in  what  manner  she  had 
been  the  object  of  Harry's  thoughts,  a  contingency 
upon  which  she  had  in  no  wise  calculated.  When 
her  emotion  of  surprise  had  sufficiently  abated  to 
permit  it,  she  told  Harry  in  a  very  pleasant  manner 
that  he  was  sick  and  should  wait  until  he  was  well' 
before  giving  attention  to  so  grave  a  question  as 
marriage. 

Harry  had  discerned  how  his  proposal  had  sur- 
prised Morlene,  and  he  now  knew  that  she  had  not 
given  him  one  thought  as  a  possible  husband.  He 


40  UNFETTERED. 

saw  cleany  that  Morlene's  many  acts  of  kindness  to 
him  were  based  purely  on  sympathy,  not  love.  This 
so  discouraged  Harry  that  it  was  not  many  days  be- 
fore he  began  to  grow  worse.  His  decline  was  so 
persistent,  refusing  to  yield  to  any  treatment,  that 
the  doctor  was  sorely  puzzled  as  to  the  cause  of 
the  relapse  and  the  treatment  necessary  to  effect  a 
change, 

Harry's  illness  now  reached  such  a  stage  that  all 
began  to  despair  of  his  life.  Beulah  kept  constant 
watch  at  his  bedside,  noting  his  every  expression. 
She  noticed  how  Harry's  eyes  followed  wherever 
Morlene  moved  about  in  the  room  ;  how  that  he  was 
restless  when  she  was  out  of  sight  and  contented 
when  she  was  near.  And  in  all  this  devotion  ex- 
hibited by  Harry  she  intuitively  felt  the  presence 
of  hopelessness.  She  framed  the  theory  in  her 
mind  that  the  mysterious  cause  of  Harry's  decline 
was  none  other  than  an  unrequited  love  for  Mor- 
lene. 

The  doctor  came,  felt  Harry's  pulse,  shook  his 
head,  and  left  the  room.  Beulah  also  went  out  and 
revealed  to  him  her  thoughts. 

"  By  Jove  !"  said  he,  "  Why  did  I  not  think  of  that 
myself?  The  girl  is  as  beautiful  as  a  sylph.  She 
can  save  him,  I  am  sure.  That  boy's  relapse  can 
be  explained  on  no  other  hypothesis.  See  what 
you  can  do  with  the  girl.  It  is  the  only  hope  left." 
So  saying,  the  doctor  went  his  way. 


"UNFETTERED.  41 

Beulah  now  re-entered  the  house  and  asked  Mor- 
lene  to  take  a  walk  with  her.  Arm  in  arm  the 
two  girls  went  down  the  little  pathway  leading 
from  the  house.  Coming  opposite  to  a  grove  of 
trees  they  turned  toward  it,  entered,  and  sat  down 
upon  a  fallen  log. 

"Morlene,  are  you  in  love  with  any  one?"  asked 
Beulah. 

"  No,  my  dear.  Why  do  you  ask  ?"  replied  Mor- 
lene. 

u  I  have  a  request  to  make  of  you,  which  I  can 
the  more  freely  do  since  you  say  that  you  are  not 
in  love." 

Morlene's  face  took  on  a  puzzled  expression. 

"  What  possible  relation  does  my  not  being  in 
love  bear  to  any  request  that  you  might  make?" 
inquired  Morlene. 

"  The  doctor  has  told  me  that  the  only  hope  of 
saving  Harry's  life  lies  in  your  consenting  to  marry 
him.  He  is  dying  of  love  for  you,"  said  Beulah. 

Morlene  stood  up  affrighted. 

Beulah  continued  :  "  Harry  looks  at  you  so  sad- 
like.  A  word  from  you,  Morlene,  will  save  him." 

Morlene  sat  down  and  raised  a  hand  to  her  fore- 
head. "  Beulah,"  said  she,  "  I  fear  that  there  is 
something  in  what  you  say.  I  now  recall  that  his 
decline  in  health  began  about  the  time  when  I  re- 
fused to  consider  a  proposal  of  marriage  which 
he  made.  But  Beulah,  I  do  not  love  Harry.  I 
think  well  of  him,  but  I  do  not  love  him." 


42  UNFETTERED. 

"You  could  learn  to  love  him,"  said  Beulah. 

"  No,  I  am  quite  sure,  Beulah,  that  I  could  never 
love  a  man  on  Harry's  order.  Something  within 
tells  me  that  somewhere  in  the  world  there  is  an 
ideal  man  that  awaits  my  coming.  He  shall  awaken 
all  the  slumbering  fires  of  my  soul  and  my  life  shall 
entwine  itself  about  his.  Beulah,  I  believe  all  this 
with  my  whole  heart." 

Morlene  spoke  in  tones  quavering  with  emotion, 
her  beautiful  face  showing  signs  of  tragic  earnest- 
ness and  her  eyes  assuming  a  far-off  expression  as  if 
the  soul  was  seeking  to  divine  the  future. 

"  Morlene,  you  and  I  are  poor  country  girls  and 
can  talk  plainly  to  each  other.  Yon  have  been 
reading  books  up  at  the  Dalton  house  which  set 
forth  the  deeds  of  mighty  men.  Out  of  all  that 
you  have  gleaned  from  books  you  have  constructed 
your  ideal  man  whom  you  feel  awaits  you  in  the 
world.  Morlene,  we  country  girls  have  only  a  lim- 
ited education  and  know  but  little  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  higher  walks  of  life.  The  man  whom 
your  imagination  has  selected  will  be  so  much  your 
superior  in  point  of  culture  that  he  will  not  notice 
you." 

This  was  a  well  directed  shaft  and  Morlene's 
body  twitched  as  if  it  had  been  entered  by  some 
deadly  missile;  for  it  had  been  the  one  dread  of  her 
life  that  the  man  whom  she  could  love  would  con- 
sider her  mind  too  poorly  trained  to  become  his 
companion.  Morlene  buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 


43 

Beulah  followed  up  the  advantage  which  she  saw 
that  she  had  gained,  saying  : 

"  Morlene,  your  own  judgment  must  teach  you 
that  your  ideal  is  impossible  of  attainment.  Put 
over  against  this  impracticable  ideal  my  honest,  in- 
dustrious, wounded  brother,  who  is  being  destroyed 
by  his  love  for  you.  Do  not,  Morlene,  allow  poor 
Harry  to  die  because  of  a  vague  hope." 

A  pet  squirrel  which  had  been  tamed  by  Har- 
ry, and  which  was  very  fond  of  him,  was  jumping 
from  limb  to  limb  in  a  neighboring  tree.  Spying 
Morlene  and  Beulah,  it  began  to  descend,  making 
looks  of  inquiry  at  various  stages  of  its  journey. 
Upon  reaching  the  ground,  it  began  to  hop  in  the 
direction  of  the  two  girls,  halting  now  and  then  to 
turn  its  little  head  first  one  way  and  then  another, 
always  keeping  one  or  the  other  of  his  brown  eyes 
looking  in  their  direction.  When  only  a  few  feet 
from  them,  it  reared  upon  its  hind  feet  and  looked 
intently  at  them.  They  were  evidently  too  sad  in 
appearance,  for  it  immediately  scampered  away  to 
resume  its  sport. 

"  Even  the  squirrel  has  come  to  plead  for  Harry, 
Morlene,"  said  Beulah. 

Morlene's  answer  was  a  deep  sigh. 

"  Beulah,"  said  Morlene,  taking  her  hands  from 
her  face,  "you  hardly  know  what  you  ask.  This 
love  which  God  has  planted  in  a  woman's  bosom 
is  the  source  of  the  highest  joy  that  she  knows 


44  UNFETTERED. 

during  her  stay  on  earth.  You  are  asking  me  to 
surrender  the  most  precious  gift  of  my  Creator,  my 
one  chance  of  supreme  happiness." 

Beulah  now  burst  into  crying,  calling  into  play 
woman's  most  formidable  weapons — her  tears. 

"All  right,  Morlene.  Poor  Harry  will  be  dead 
to-morrow,  and  I  shall  soon  die  of  grief.  You 
know  how  my  dear  father  loves  us.  Our  deaths 
will  break  his  heart.  When  we  are  dead,  Mor- 
lene, remember  that  the  surrender  of  an  idle  hope 
on  your  part  would  have  saved  us  all." 

Beulah,  weeping  bitterly,  now  arose  to  go.  Mor- 
lene's  sympathetic  nature  could  not  longer  resist 
the  strain. 

"Beulah,  Beulah,  it  is  hard  to  do  as  you  ask. 
How  hard,  the  future  alone  can  tell.  I  consent  to 
sacrifice  myself.  I  don't  understand  this  world, 
anyway  !  Why  am  I  placed  in  such  a  trying  situ- 
ation ?  I  will  marry  Harry  !" 

It  was  now  Morlene's  time  to  cry.  She  wept  bit- 
terly, her  gentle  spirit  chiding  the  cruel  fate  that 
had  woven  such  a  web  about  her  feet.  Parentless, 
homeless,  friendless,  now  doomed  to  a  loveless  mar- 
riage, she  considered  her  lot  an  inexpressibly  hard 
one. 

The  two  girls  wept  together,  Beulah  now  weep- 
ing over  the  necessity  of  imposing  such  a  marriage 
on  Morlene.  Having  as  Harry's  sister  persuaded 
Morlene  into  agreeing  to  the  marriage,  she  now  as 


UNFETTERED.  45 

a  woman  wept  in  sympathy  with  Morlene  over  a 
prospective  wedlock  without  love.  When  the  two 
had  regained  self-control,  they  returned  to  the 
house.  Morlene  went  to  Harry's  bedside  and  knelt 
there.  She  took  his  enfeebled  arm  and  laid  it 
across  her  shoulder,  smiling  at  him  sweetly  the 
while. 

"  Harry,"  said  she,  "  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that 
I  am  going  to  be  your  wife,  a  true  wife — one  that 
will  do  all  that  is  in  her  power  for  your  comfort 
and  welfare." 

So  saying  she  leaned  forward  and  sealed  her 
doom  with  a  kiss. 

Beulah,  eager  to  insure  Harry's  recovery,  and 
fearing  that  Morlene,  after  a  period  of  reflection, 
might  deny  the  binding  force  of  a  vow  extorted 
from  her  in  the  dread  presence  of  death,  hastened 
matters.  The  next  day  Harry  and  Morlene  were 
duly  pronounced  man  and  wife. 

When  a  woman's  hand  is  chained  and  her  heart 
is  free ! 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AN  ACT  OF  WHICH  NOBODY  IS  PROUD. 

The  decision  reached  by  the  assemblage  of  Ne- 
groes in  the  first  burst  of  excitement  over  the  post- 
ing of  the  notice  demanding  that  Harry  and  Beu- 
lah  leave  the  settlement,  was  adhered  to,  and  on 
Christmas  Eve  several  wagon  loads  of  young  Ne- 
gro men  and  women  started  on  their  journey  to  the 
city.  The  crops  had  been  marketed  and  each  one 
had  come  into  possession  of  the  profits  on  his 
year's  labor.  In  no  case  was  the  amount  very 
large,  but  it  caused  all  to  be  in  good  cheer. 

The  occupants  of  the  wagons  were  as  numerous 
as  the  wagons  could  well  hold,  and  they  rode  stand- 
ing up,  holding  to  each  other  to  keep  from  falling 
whenever  the  uneven  character  of  the  road  caused 
the  wagons  to  jolt.  A  jug  of  whiskey  had  been 
placed  in  each  wagon  and  from  it  bottles  were 
filled  and  passed  around,  men,  women  and  children 
alike  taking  each  a  "dram."  Loud  laughing, 
playful  bantering,  sallies  of  coarse  wit,  ribald  sing- 
ing, characterized  this  journey  to  the  city.  The 
more  sober  and  religious  element  of  the  Negroes, 
who  were  disgusted  with  this  sort  of  conduct,  stayed 
behind  to  avoid  contact  with  those  inclined  toward 

(46) 


UNFETTERED.  47 

rowdyism.  They  wished  also  to  improve  the  occa- 
sion by  holding  one  more  service  of  worship  in 
their  country  church  house. 

On  Christmas  morning  the  church  was  filled 
with  those  who  had  come  to  worship  God  there, 
perhaps  for  the  last  time.  The  minister  was  ex- 
pected to  preach  a  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion. Recognizing  this  expectation,  he  sought  to 
fulfill  it,  and  chose  for  his  text,  Hebrews  xi:i6: 

"  But  now  they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  a 
heavenly :  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed  to  be 
called  their  God  :  for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a 
city." 

The  preacher  began  his  discourse  in  that  deeply 
pathetic  tone  accompanied  with  prolonged  mournful 
cadences,  once  so  largely  in  vogue  among  a  certain 
class  of  Negro  preachers.  This  tone,  so  full  of  the 
note  of  sorrow,  found  responsive  chords  in  the  bo- 
soms of  his  hearers  and  a  bond  of  fellowship  for 
the  occasion  was  at  once  established  between 
him  and  them.  His  every  utterance  was  saluted 
with  an  answering  groan  or  sympathetic  manifesta- 
tion of  some  kind,  evoked  as  much  by  the  tone  of 
voice  as  by  the  sentiment  expressed.  The  re- 
sponses of  the  people  heightened  the  emotions  of 
the  preacher.  Thus  the  preacher  and  the  people 
acting  and  reacting  upon  each  other,  produced  a 
highly  emotional  state  of  affairs. 

The  burden  of  the  preacher's  discourse  was  an 
Account  of  the  wanderings  of  Abraham  and  the 


48  UNFETTERED. 

subsequent  sorrowful  career  of  his  descendants  in 
the  land  of  Egypt.  With  a  constantly  swelling 
tide  of  emotions  the  hearers  followed  the  dolorous 
account,  which  was  made  the  more  touching  by 
instituting  comparisons,  the  purport  of  which  was 
to  show  that  the  Negroes  were  having  similar  expe- 
riences. In  drawing  to  a  close,  he  emphasized  the 
thought  that  the  God  that  prepared  a  goodly  land 
for  the  Jews  would  take  care  of  the  Negroes.  He 
urged  them  to  leave  the  question  of  their  earthly 
welfare  in  the  hands  of  God  and  center  their 
thoughts  on  Heaven.  He  entered  into  a  dramatic 
description  of  the  Christian's  getting  ready  to  wade 
across  the  Jordan  of  death. 

Then  came  a  vivid  word  painting  of  the  scenes 
beyond — the  green  fields  of  Eden  ;  the  pearly 
gates  standing  ajar ;  the  gold  paved  streets ;  the 
jasper  walls ;  the  tree  of  life ;  the  long  white 
robes ;  the  silver  slippers ;  the  starry  crown ;  the 
palms  of  victory ;  the  harps  of  gold.  The  Chris- 
tian was  to  go  into  the  city,  he  set  forth,  and  sit 
upon  a  throne  singing  God's  praise,  looking  out  of 
the  window  of  heaven  while  the  sun  was  covered 
with  sackcloth  and  ashes  and  the  moon  was  drip- 
ping away  in  blood. 

His  very  last  remarks  were  made  sitting  down, 
in  representation  of  the  final  rest  of  the  Christian 
in  the  midst  of  the  stirring  scenes  depicted. 

The  tumultuous  scene  which  accompanied  and 
followed  this  highly  dramatic  peroration  beggars 


UNFETTERED.  49 

description.  Women  screamed  and  shouted  and 
fainted,  while  men  wept  like  babes  and  clambered 
from  seat  to  seat  wild  with  emotion.  Such  was 
the  character  of  the  religious  preparation  that  the 
Negroes  had  for  the  grave  responsibilities  of  life  in 
the  city.  While  these  things  were  transpiring  at 
the  church,  a  frightful  tragedy  was  being  enacted 
elsewhere.  A  short  outline  of  the  circumstances 
leading  up  thereto  is  now  necessary. 

When  the  white  farmers  became  aware  of  the 
fact  that  there  was  to  be  a  wholesale  exodus  of  Ne- 
groes from  the  settlement,  they  were  much  enraged. 
They  recognized  the  fact  that  the  Negro  made  a  very 
good  laborer,  in  spite  of  his  foibles,  and  they  were 
loth  to  let  him  go.  Their  course  toward  him 
was  not,  as  they  understood  it,  dictated  by  preju- 
dice nor  tainted  with  injustice.  They  were  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  the  doctrine  that  they  were 
inherently  superior  to  the  Negro  and  instituted  re- 
pressive measures  to  keep  alive  recognition  of  this 
claim.  This  was  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  their 
purposes,  and  they  were  angered,  that  .their 
course,  to  them  righteous,  should  be  accepted  in 
any  other  spirit,  and  should  operate  to  disturb  the 
social  fabric.  They  argued  with  the  Negroes, 
endeavoring  to  show  them  that  they  were  not  op- 
posed to  Negroes  per  se,  but  to  "  sassy  "  Negroes 
that  tried  to  put  on  airs  and  represent  themselves 
to  be  as  good  as  white  people.  All  efforts  to  stem 
toe  tide  of  emigration  failed,  however, 


5<>  UNFETTERED. 

Lemuel  Dalton  alone  was  undisturbed  by  the 
outcome.  Years  before,  as  the  prospective  land- 
lord of  the  Dalton  place,  he  had  made  a  careful 
study  as  to  how  he  could  operate  the  plantation 
without  the  aid  of  Negroes.  He  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  presence  of  the  Negro 
on  the  farm  lands  of  the  South,  was  the  chief 
cause  of  its  backwardness.  He  looked  upon  the 
Negro  as  being  of  too  conservative  a  mold, 
averse,  like  all  primitive  people,  to  innovations. 
He  had  given  earnest  study  to  improved  meth- 
ods of  farming  and  had  determined  upon  many 
changes  that  would  dispense  with  much  labor. 
He  had  in  mind  to  substitute  barbed  wire  for 
rail  fences  and  thus  be  rM  of  Negro  rail-split- 
ters. Improved  plows,  planting,  threshing  and 
harvesting  machines — in  fact,  the  whole  category 
of  labor-saving  devices  for  farming  were  to  be 
brought  into  use.  By  thus  elevating  farm  life 
from  a  condition  of  extreme  drudgery  he  felt  hope- 
ful of  securing  white  farm  hands  to  take  the  place 
of  Negroes.  So  the  contemplated  exodus  did 
not  in  the  least  affect  Lemuel  Dalton's  peace  of 
mind. 

Not  so  with  other  young  white  men  of  the  set- 
tlement, yet  living  on  their  fathers'  places.  In 
view  of  a  prospective  scarcity  of  "hands"  they 
had  been  notified  that  they  would  have  to  abandon 
their  lives  of  ease  and  help  to  man  the  farms.  The 
thought  of  performing  the  drudgery  incident  to 


UNFETTERED.  51 

farm  life  was  very  distasteful  to  them,  and  they  be- 
came very  bitter  in  their  feelings  toward  the  Ne^ 
groes. 

On  this  Christmas  morning,  a  number  of  these 
young  white  men  went  to  the  one  whisky  shop  in 
the  vicinity  to  drink  off  their  troubles.  As  they  be- 
came intoxicated,  their  fury  rose  until  it  was  evi- 
dent that  trouble  of  some  sort  was  certain  to  ensue. 
One  of  the  drunken  lot  said,  "  Boys,  what  say  you  ? 
Down  with  the  cause  of  all  our  troubles  !  What 
shall  we  do  with  Beulah  Dalton  ?" 

"  Kill  her  !  Kill  her  !  Kill  her  !  "  rang  out 
from  the  throats  of  the  half-drunken  crowd. 

With  much  yelling  and  hooting,  they  started 
toward  Stephen  Dalton's  home.  Beulah  had  al- 
ways been  disliked  by  the  young  white  men,  as 
she  persistently  refused  to  speak  to  any  of  them 
that  did  not  call  her  "Miss  Beulah."  This  long 
nourished  feeling  of  animosity  was  no  doubt  a  fac-. 
tor,  though  unconsciously  so,  in  the  present  move^ 
ment  against  her. 

Beulah  had  remained  at  home,  while  the  others 
went  to  the  church.  She  was  completing  her 
preparations  for  the  journey  to  the  city,  to  take 
place  on  the  morrow.  She  heard  the  wild  shouts 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  and  looked  out  of  her 
window  to  discover  the  meaning  thereof.  The 
crowd  caught  sight  of  her,  and  with  a  yell  of  sav- 
age delight,  came  toward  the  house  at  full  speed. 


52  UNFETTERED. 

Beulah  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  barricade 
the  doors.  The  windows  were .  furnished  with 
thick  oak  doors  that  closed  from  the  inside  and 
effected  a  protection  for  the  apertures  supplemen- 
tary to  that  of  the  window  panes.  These  doors 
Beulah  closed. 

When  the  crowd  arrived  at  the  house  they  found 
Beulah  securely  ensconced.  As  their  doings  were 
not  premeditated,  they  had  come  from  their  homes 
without  implements  with  which  to  batter  down  the 
doors.  Finding  their  purpose  of  capturing  Beu- 
lah thwarted,  they  were  under  the  necessity  of 
providing  another  mode  of  procedure. 

"  Burn  her  up  !"  said  one, 

"  You  are  a  coward.  The  gal  ain't  no  rat.  Give 
her  a  chance,  fool,"  replied  another. 

"  Who  calls  me  a  fool  ?"  shouted  the  first  speak- 
er. "I  will  kill  the  scoundrel,"  he  added. 

A  wrangle  here  broke  out  and  a  free  for  all  fight 
was  threatened,  some  favoring  one  of  the  dispu- 
tants and  some  the  other.  While  they  were  en- 
gaged in  this  drunken  squabble,  one  of  their  num- 
ber had  gotten  into  the  kitchen  and  had  saturated 
the  floor  with  kerosene  oil.  He  then  set  fire  to  the 
building. 

Beulah  heard  the  roaring  flames  and  decided  to 
make  a  bold  dash  for  life.  She  was  a  country  girl, 
vigorous  of  frame  and  fleet  of  foot  and  hoped  tQ 


UNFETTERED.  S3 

outrun  the  crowd  in  their  drunken  condition. 
Quietly  unpinning  the  barred  door,  she  leaped  out 
and  began  to  run.  She  chose  the  side  of  the  house 
opposite  to  the  one  where  she  heard  the  noise,  and 
supposed  that  at  least  a  short  interval  would  in- 
tervene before  the  crowd  discovered  that  she  had 
escaped. 

But  the  young  man  who  had  set  the  house  on  fire 
had  gone  to  that  side  of  the  house  in  anticipation 
of  an  attempt  to  escape.  .When  he  saw  Beulah  run 
forth  from  the  building,  he  uttered  a  yell  and  with 
great  effort  of  will  steadied  himself  sufficiently  to 
hurl  at  the  fleeing  girl  a  stick  of  stove  wood  which 
he  had  gotten  in  the  kitchen.  The  stick  struck 
her  on  the  back  of  her  head.  Beulah  fell  forward 
and  in  a  few  minutes  breathed  her  last.  When  the 
Negroes  returned  from  church,  they  found  the  ashes 
of  the  house  and,  a  short  distance  away,  Beulah 
lying  on  her  face  in  a  puddle  of  blood. 
perpetrators  of  the  crime  had  fled. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  MAN  AGAINST  A  REGIMENT. 

Stephen  Dalton,  whose  conservatism  was  pro- 
verbial ;  who  had  been  from  time  immemorial  the 
assuager  of  race  animosities ;  who  had  so  success- 
fully mediated  between  the  whites  and  the  Negroes 
at  every  previous  crisis,  was  at  last  thoroughly 
aroused  to  action.  The  ills  of  which  the  Negroes 
had  complained,  and  concerning  which  he  had  al- 
ways counseled  moderation,  were  now  brought 
home  to  his  own  door.  As  a  result  of  the  race  feel- 
ing his  son  had  been  wounded,  his  house  burned, 
the  friendly  relations  of  a  lifetime  destroyed,  and 
his  daughter,  the  pride  of  his  heart,  murdered  while 
at  home  unprotected.  With  his  gun  on  his  shoul- 
der he  tramped  from  house  to  house  for  miles 
around  exhorting  the  Negroes  to  repair  to  a  desig- 
nated spot  where  they  would  march  in  unison  to 
attack  the  whites. 

The  Negroes  felt  that  the  time  for  action  had 
assuredly  come  if  ucool  headed"  Stephen,  as  he  was 
called,  was  aroused  to  the  point  of  action.  Their 
long  pent-up  feelings  of  resentment  now  became 
rampant  and  they  gathered  in  force  at  the  point 
selected  by  Stephen.  They  came  armed  with 
such  weapons  as  they  could  buy,  borrow  or  steal. 
(54) 


55 

The  white  people  of  the  settlement  became 
thoroughly  alarmed ;  for,  though  the  Negro  was 
regarded  as  a  normally  peaceful  being,  they  felt 
that  there  was  a  latent  sanguinary  nature  and  a 
sort  of  reckless  dare-devil  bravery  that  burst  forth 
upon  occasion  and  was  dangerous.  They  tele- 
phoned to  all  nearby  stores,  requesting  that 
firearms  and  munitions  of  war  be  denied  to  all 
would-be  Negro  purchasers.  Word  was  sent  to 
neighboring  settlements  to  guard  the  crossroads 
and  prevent  other  Negroes  from  different  sections 
coming  to  the  assistance  of  those  already  in  arms. 

The  telegraph  and  telephone  stations  were  put 
under  strict  censorship,  and  all  newspaper  reporters 
were  warned  to  send  out  no  accounts  of  the  trouble 
that  would  create  the  least  vestige  of  a  doubt  as  to 
the  entire  justice  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
whites. 

Messages  were  sent  to  the  governor  that  a  race 
riot  was  imminent,  and  an  urgent  plea  was  made 
for  several  companies  of  State  troops.  These  were 
forthwith  dispatched. 

The  whites  who  had  armed  themselves,  now 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  State  troops  to  assist  in 
quelling  the  uprising  of  the  Negroes.  There  was 
no  desire  among  the  whites  for  bloodshed,  and, 
being  fully  prepared  for  war,  now  cast  about  for  a 
means  of  bringing  about  peace. 

The  usual  mediator,  Stephen  Dalton,  being  the 
leader  of  the  Negroes,  they  had  to  search  for  an*- 


56  UNFETTERED. 

other.  They  decided  to  impress  into  their  service 
for  that  task  the  Negro  public  school  teacher. 

The  Negro  school  teacher  has  perhaps  been  the 
greatest  conservator  of  peace  in  the  South,  labor- 
ing for  the  Negroes  by  the  appointment  of  the 
whites,  being  thus  placed  in  a  position  where  it 
was  to  his  interest  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  both 
races.  Thus  the  whites  on  this  occasion  sent  the 
school  teacher  to  confer  with  the  Negroes. 

Arriving  at  the  Negro  assemblage  the  teacher 
approached  Stephen  Dalton. 

"Good  evening,  sir,"  said  he  to  Stephen. 

"Good  evenin',"  was  Stephen's  gruff  response. 

By  this  time  a  number  of  Stephen's  lieutenants 
had  clustered  around  the  two,  eagerly  looking  from 
the  teacher  to  Stephen  and  from  Stephen  to  the 
teacher,  bent  on  catching  whatever  might  pass  be- 
tween them.  They  made  no  attempt  to  conceal 
their  feeling  of  curiosity,  which  was  as  manifest  as 
in  the  case  of  children. 

"  May  I  be  allowed  to  address  this  gathering  ?" 
asked  the  teacher  of  Stephen. 

"Whar  is  you  frum?"  queried  Stephen,  grumly. 

"  I  have  just  come  from  the  white  people's  ren- 
dezvous," he  replied. 

"Thought  so.  Bettah  go  back  dar,  I  'specks," 
said  Stephen,  turning  his  back  and  walking  away. 

The  teacher  now  turned  to  the  others  who  had 
crowded  about  him.  "  Men,"  said  he,  "  I 


tJNFETTERED.  57 

something  to  say  that  concerns  you  all.  Uncle 
Stephen  is  inteiested  in  this  whole  affair  in  too 
personal  a  in  inner  for  yon  men  to  commit  your 
interests  blindly  to  him.  In  times  like  these  you 
need  a  man  who  is  in  such  a  frame  of  mind  that 
he  can  weigh  everything.  Now,  yon  all  know  that 
Uncle  Stephen  has  had  enough  to  unbalance  any- 
body, and,  I  tell  you,  men,  unbalanced  minds  are 
not  safe  guides  in  such  times  as  these." 

The  men  gathered  about  the  teacher  now  looked 
in  the  direction  of  Stephen.     He,  seeing  that    the" 
teacher  was  engaging  the  attention   of    the  crowd, 
decided  to  return  and  order  him  away. 

"I  is  cummander  in  chief,  heah,  sur,  and  you 
mus'  leave  dis  groun'  at  once,  sur,"  said  Stephen  to 
the  teacher. 

The  teacher  now  lifted  his  voice  and  said  in  tones 
that  many  could  hear. 

"  In  former  times  when  other  people's  oxen  were 
gored,  Uncle  Stephen  was  not  driven  away  when 
he  came  to  see  you.  Uncle  Stephen  is  a  good  man, 
but  I  don't  think  he  is  that  much  better  than  the 
rest  of  you.  If  your  matters  could  be  talked  of,  it 
seems  to  be  that  his  might  be  talked  of,  too." 

This  blow  was  well  aimed.  There  seems  to  be  a 
feeling  in  the  Negro  race  to  keep  all  upon  a  level 
and  to  resent  anything  that  savors  of  superiority  of 
one  Negro  over  another.  No  man  who  attempts 
to  lead  them  can  have  any  measure  of  success  unless 


58  UNFETTERED. 

he  is  thoroughly  democratic  in  his  behavior,  tastes 
and  manner  of  approach.  The  teacher  knew  of 
this  feeling,  and  his  remark  was  an  adroit  bid  for 
its  support. 

The  Negroes  now  felt  a  little  sullen  toward 
Stephen  Dalton,  their  commander,  because  he  de- 
sired to  prevent  free  speech  on  this  occasion  when 
he  had  availed  himself  of  it  so  often  in  times  of 
threatened  trouble. 

"  Uncle  Stephen  is  in  a  mighty  heap  of  trouble, 
an'  ain't  'zactly  at  hisself.  Go  er  head,  teacher, 
we'll  hear  you,"  said  one. 

A  murmur  of  approval  went  through  the  crowd, 
which  had  now  swelled  to  large  proportions. 

Seeing  that  he  had  gained  audience  the  teacher 
began.  In  his  speech  he  set  forth  that  the  killing 
of  Beulah  was  not  indicative  of  the  feelings  of  the 
best  white  people  toward  the  Negroes,  nor  of  the 
real  feelings  of  the  worse  elements  of  whites.  He 
said  that  liquor  was  at  the  root  of  the  murder, 
and  that  in  a  measure  the  colored  people  were 
responsible,  because  it  was  their  vote  that  kept 
liquor  from  being  voted  out  of  the  county  at  a  lo- 
cal option  election  held  a  short  while  previous. 
To  this  the  Negroes  nodded  assent,  for  they  knew 
it  to  be  true.  The  teacher  asked  why,  as  sensible 
people,  they  were  going  to  have  all  the  folks  of 
the  community,  good  and  bad,  white  and  colored, 
killed  for  an  act  that  liquor  was  mainly  responsible 
for,  they  being  responsible  for  the  liquor. 


UNFETTERED.  59 

Then  the  teacher  recited  the  facts  as  to  the 
superior  training,  numbers,  equipment,  transporta- 
tion facilities,  means  of  inter-communication  of  the 
whites.  He  dwelt  upon  the  fact  that  the  Negroes 
were  practically  cut  off  from  all  other  Negroes,  and 
the  battle  would  really  be  between  that  little  hand- 
ful of  Negroes  aud  the  whole  body  of  white  people 
of  the  South.  The  teacher  spoke  earnestly,  and 
impressed  the  throng  that  he  was  doing  them  a 
service  in  calling  their  attention  to  their  hopeless 
plight. 

When  the  teacher  was  through  his  hearers  were 
won  over  to  his  way  of  thinking. 

Stephen  Dalton  had  foreseen  what  would  be  the 
outcome,  knowing  from  experience  how  susceptible 
the  Negroes  were  to  argument  at  such  times.  Be- 
fore the  teacher  had  concluded  he  dropped  his  gun 
and  ammunition  and  walked  away  quite  rapidly. 
Arriving  at  the  place  where  the  white  soldiers 
were  stationed,  he  pulled  off  his  coat,  rolled  up  his 
sleeves,  clenched  his  fists,  stepped  forward  and 
spoke  as  follows,  his  eyes  gleaming  with  rage : 

"Gentlemens,  the  man  whut  you  done  sent  up 
yonder  will  turn  them  people,  an'  I  reckin  it's  best. 
Dare  aint  no  use'n  er  whole  lots  er  folks  dyin'  fur 
me  one.  Now  I  wants  to  make  a  fair  propursition 
ter  you." 

Stephen's  voice  grew  loud  and  strident. 

"  My  house  is  burned,  my  boy  is  shot,  my  gal  is 
killed,  an'  me  all  broke  up  at  dis  age.  Gentlemens, 


60  UNFETTERED. 

justis'  comes  in  som'ers.  Uv  course  nairy  one  man 
uv  you  could  stan  er  show  befo'  me,  fair  fist  an' 
skull  fight.  Pick  out  any  two  men  an'  sen  um  to 
me  an'  I'll  lick  um.  Gentlemens,  on  dat  plan  I'll 
take  the  whole  regurment  uv  you.  Now,  gentle- 
mens,  I  ax  yer  in  de  name  uv  justis,  consider  my 
propursition.  Ef  you  think  that  ain't  fair,  I'll  take 
any  three  uv  yer  fair  fist  and  skull." 

Stephen  now  awaited  an  answer. 

The  whites,  who  at  heart  sympathized  with 
Stephen  in  his  grief,  regarded  him  as  unbalanced 
by  trouble.  No  one  replied,  and  there  was  no 
thought  of  harming  him. 

"  Ah!  Gentlemens,  you  kill  er  pore  gal  when  her 
daddy  wuz  erway,  but  you  won't  fight  him,  I  see. 
Gentlemens,  dare  uster  be  bettah  blood  dan  dat.  I 
was  in  de  war  wid  my  marster,  an'  he  showd  good 
blood  to  de  Yankees.  Is  it  all  gone,  dat  three  uv  you 
won't  fight  ur  *  nigger,'  ez  you  call  him?" 

By  this  time  the  teacher  had  arrived,  accompa- 
nied by  two  friends  of  Stephen.  They  came  to  re- 
port that  the  Negroes  had  disbanded  and  would 
give  no  more  trouble.  Stephen's  two  friends  now 
approached  him  and  stationing  themselves  on  either 
side,  begged  him  to  leave. 

The  old  man's  head  drooped  upon  his  bosom. 
He  had  at  last  collapsed,  having  been  so  long  under 
a  severe  mental  strain.  His  two  friends  supported 
him  between  them  and  bore  him  from  the  spot, 


UNFETTERED.  6l 

Stephen  repeating  over  and  over  in  a  broken  voice : 
"  Boys,  dey  don't  fight  fair.  Dey  don't  fight  fair, 
boys.  Beulah!  Beulah!  your  daddy  can't  do  nuthin'. 
He  would  if  he  could.  Boys,  dey  won't  fight  fair." 

The  Negrots  en  masse  now  gathered  up  their  few 

belongings  and  removed  to  the  city  of  R with 

all  of  its  aggregation  of  vice,  of  temptation,  of  hard- 
ships, of  alluring  promises,  of  elusive  hopes. 

As  they  enter  this  typical  American  city,  we 
fain  would  follow  them,  but  cannot  just  now. 
May  the  fates  deal  kindly  with  them. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  HINT   NOT  TAKEN. 

The  eyes  of  the  civilized  world  were  now  direct- 
ed to  the  settlement  wherein  Beulah  was  mur- 
dered, in  order  to  witness  there  the  workings  of  the 
sentiment  of  justice. 

The  poet's  pen,  the  artist's  brush,  the  sculptor's 
chisel,  have  long  since  despaired  of  adequately 
setting  forth  the  natural  charms  of  the  Southland, 
the  home  of  birds  and  flowers,  grand  with  mount- 
ains, beautiful  with  valleys,  restful  in  the  girdling 
arms  of  her  majestic  streams,  presided  over  by  skies 
that  are  the  bluest  of  the  blue. 

Knowing  the  proud  place  given  the  Southland 
by  the  fiat  of  Nature,  the  world  of  mankind  riveted 
its  gaze  upon  her  eagerly  and  pressed  to  know  the 
fate  of  those  who  murdered  Beulah.  The  great 
heart  of  the  South  throbbed  with  a  sense  of  shame 
over  the  perpetration  of  the  crime  and  now  sought 
to  shake  itself  loose  from  the  benumbing  influences 
of  an  ever-pervading  race  feeling  that  was  so  pow- 
erful as  to  render  inoperative  so  many  higher  senti- 
ments. The  pulpit  and  the  press  spoke  in  terrible 
tones  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  the  whites 
in  denunciation  of  the  crime  and  in  demand 
the  guilty  parties  be  brought  to  trial, 


UNFETTERED.  63 

In  addition  to  their  natural  horror  of  the  crime, 
the  best  white  people  of  the  South  had  another 
incentive  for  desiring  that  they  should  act  worthily 
in  the  matter.  The  white  people  had  arrogated 
to  themselves  the  right  of  exclusive  control  of 
public  affairs,  This  act  had  been  quietly  submit- 
ted to  by  the  Negroes,  and  the  people  of  the 
North  at  that  time  appeared  to  be  disposed  to  ac- 
cept in  great  measure  the  Southern  white  man's 
view  of  his  own  problem.  With  all  that  they  de- 
manded practically  conceded,  they  felt  the  more 
under  obligations  to  make  human  life  within  their 
borders  safe  and  sacred. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  offered  large  rewards 
for  the  apprehension  and  conviction  of  the  perpe- 
trators of  the  crime.  In  spite,  however,  of  all  the 
indignation  of  tbe  South,  no  arrests  were  made. 
The  members  of  the  mob  were  in  some  way  related 
to  practically  every  influential  family  in  the  county 
in  which  the  crime  had  been  committed.  In  many 
cases  the  prosecutors  would  have  found  themselves 
proceeding  against  their  closest  kin. 

The  coroner's  jury,  duly  impanelled  and  sworn, 
viewed  the  remains  of  Beulah  and  brought  in  the 
stereotyped  verdict  that  "  the  deceased  came  to  her1 
death  at  the  hands  of  a  party  or  parties  to  the  jury 
unknown."  This  verdict  brought  the  incident  to 
a  close,  so  far  as  society,  acting  through  legally 
constituted  agencies,  was  concerned.  But  the  in- 


64  UNFETTERED. 

cident  was  not  in  reality  closed  ;  for  when  a  given 
agency  fails  to  adequately  meet  the  demands  of 
humanity,  the  people  find  a  way  of  making  their 
power  felt.  Public  sentiment  began  to  mete  out, 
in  its  own  peculiar  way,  the  justice  which  the  courts 
had  felt  unable  to  administer. 

The  young  men  who  had  committed  the  crime, 
found  themselves  ostracized  on  every  hand.  Those 
who  were  engaged  to  be  married,  received  notes 
cancelling  their  engagements. 

When  the  people  so  elect  they  can  make  a  citi- 
zen's garb  burn  into  the  soul  of  a  man  with  an  in- 
tensity equal  to  that  of  prison  stripes.  If  the  per- 
petrators of  the  crime  were  not  convicts,  the  differ- 
ence would  not  have  been  discovered  by  a  compar- 
ison of  their  feelings  with  those  of  real  con- 
victs. 

It  came  to  the  ears  of  'Squire  Mullen  that  his 
son  Alfred  had  been  the  one  to  apply  the  torch  and 
to  strike  the  blow  that  brought  on  Beulah's  death. 
The  'Squire  was  the  soul  of  honor,  as  he  understoo4 
it,  and  while  he  believed  it  to  be  the  design  of  Ged 
that  the  white  man  should  keep  the  Negro  in  a 
subordinate  place,  he  yet  deemed  it  an  unspeakable 
horror  to  needlessly  afflict  a  helpless  people. 

'Squire  Mullen  went  to  the  room  of  his  son  on 
the  night  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  heard  of  the, 
part  that  the  young  man  had  played  in  the  matter. 
The  hour  was  late ;  his  son  was  asleep  in  bed*  Th? 


UNFETTERED.  65 

father  said  to  himself  as  he  looked  at  his  sleeping 
offspring  : 

"  I  do  not  yet  know  that  my  boy  is  that  guilty. 
Let  me  stroke  those  Saxon  curls  and  kiss  his  cheek 
once  more  before  I  find  out  whether  or  not  he  is 
guilty."  His  caressings  awoke  Alfred,  and  the 
tenderness  died  out  of  the  'Squire's  face,  a  look 
of  stern  justice  mounted  the  throne. 

He  said  :  "Alfred,  news  reaches  me  that  you  ap- 
plied the  torch  to  Uncle  Stephen's  house  while  his 
daughter  was  in  there,  and  that  you  struck  the 
blow  that  killed  her.  I  have  come  to  know  of  you, 
my  son,  as  to  whether  you  did  or  did  not  da  these 
things.''  :£ 

Alfred  sat  up  in  bed,  a  look  of  deep  remorse  upon 
his  young  and  handsome  face. 

"  Father,"  he  said,  "  I  would  give  the  world  to 
be  able  to  truthfully  say  that  the  statements  are 
false  ;  but  I  cannot.  The  statements  are  true(  too 
true ! " 

'Squire  Mullen's  eyes  closed,  his  features  became 
pinched,  a  harrowing  groan  escaped  his  lips.  In 
his  heart,  honor  and  justice  were  throttling  the 
love  of  his  son.  The  moment  was  as  excruciating 
as  the  soul  of  man  ever  knew.  The  struggle  was 
great,  for  the  opposing  forces  were  great;  but  the 
conflict  was  of  but  a  moment's  duration. 

'Squire  Mullen  turned  and  dragged  himself  out 
pf  the  room.  His  step  was  no  longer  elastic.  That 


66  UNFETTERED. 

instant  had  brought  on  the  old  age  which  his 
energetic  will  had  persisted  in  delaying.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  returned,  bringing  with  him  the  family 
pistol.  He  placed  it  on  the  lamp-stand  that  stood 
at  the  head  of  Alfred's  bed.  Without  saying  a 
word  he  left  the  room.  He  went  to  bed,  but,  alas, 
could  not  sleep.  He  lay  throughout  the  night  ex- 
pecting a  sound  that  failed  to  come.  When  the 
fowls  in  the  barnyard  began  to  signal  the  approach 
of  day,  he  arose  and  went  to  Alfred's  room  again. 
He  said,  "Alfred  !  Alfred  !  Alfred  !  "  Alfred  awoke. 

"Can  you  sleep  on  such  a  night?"  said  the 
'Squire,  in  tones  of  agony.  "  Is  the  family  honor 
that  low  also?  Can  we  thus  bear  open  disgrace? 
Alfred !  Alfred !  There  is  a  pistol  at  the  head  of 
your  bed."  So  saying,  the  'Squire  returned  to  his 
room  to  again  listen  for  the  sound  that  would 
have  been  the  most  welcome  of  any  that  could  be 
made. 

Alfred  now  understood  that  his  father   desired 
him  to  commit  suicide.     He  grasped  the  pistol  and 
held  it  in  his  hand.     He  longed  at  that  moment 
for  the  courage  to  die,  but  it  was  missing.     He  had 
been  brought  up  from  infancy  by  a  "black  mammy,' 
and  she  had  succeeded  in  imbuing  his  soul  with  he 
living  fear  of  hell  and  her  conceptions  of  a  persona^ 
devil.     As  he  sought  to  lift  the  pistol  to  his  head, 
vivid  pictures  of  lurid  flames  and  grinning  demons 
arose  and  paralyzed  the  hand  that  he  desired  to  pull 

the  trigger,    Day  broke  and  he  was  yet  alive* 


UNFETTERED.  67 

The  'Squire  now  came  and  took  the  pistol  from 
the  table  where  Alfred  had  replaced  it,  saying  not 
a  word  to  his  son.  That  day  he  summoned  all  of 
his  relations  that  were  near  by  to  gather  at  his 
home.  In  response  to  his  request  they  came,  their 
wives  and  daughters  accompanying  them. 

In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  men  repaired 
to  the  front  yard,  leaving  the  women  in  the  house. 
It  was  somewhat  cold  and  a  bonfire  was  started  to 
keep  them  warm.  A  circle  of  chairs  was  formed 
around  the  fire  and  the  men  sat  down,  two  chairs 
having  been  put  within  the  circle  to  be  occupied 
by  'Squire  Mullen  and  Alfred.  These  two  now 
took  their  seats  side  by  side.  A  huge  leather  back 
book  was  in  the  'Squire's  hands.  His  face  wore  a 
stern  aspect,  but  one  could  tell  that  grief  born  of 
love  was  gnawing  at  his  vitals.  Since  the  previous 
night  his  hair  had  whitened  and  his  brave  eye  had 
lost  its  glitter.  He  arose  to  address  the  meeting. 
Opening  the  book  which  he  had  in  hand,  he  said  : 
"  Kinsmen,  I  hold  in  my  hand  the  record  book  of 
the  Mullens.  I  shall  on  this  occasion  read  to  you  a 
terse  statement  of  the  most  notable  achievements 
of  the  Mullens  from  the  time  of  William  of  Nor- 
mandy until  the  present." 

They  all  listened  attentively  while  he  read,  Al- 
fred's eyes  being  cast  upon  the  ground. 

Having  traced  the  family  history  to  his  own  gen- 
$ration,  the  'Squire  read  of  the  deeds  of  process  of 


68  UNFETTERED. 

himself  and  the  others  assembled  who  had  ren- 
dered excellent  service  to  the  cause  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  When  through  with  this  he  called 
the  name  of  Alfred  Mullen. 

The  'Squire  paused,  then  said  :  "  Kinsmen,  it 
would  appear  that  I  must  now  record  the  deed  of 
one  who  claims  to  be  my  offspring  and  a  partaker 
of  the  blood  of  our  illustrious  family.  If  so  be, 
then  the  record  must  read  that  Alfred  Mullen,  on  a 
Christmas  morn,  murdered  a  Negro  girl  in  the  ab- 
sence of  all  male  protection.  The  murder  was  un- 
provoked, and  committed  by  Alfred  Mullen  while 
he  had  the  protection  of  a  gang  of  his  fellows. 

"  Kinsmen,  I  have  summoned  you  here  to  know 
if  this  deed  must  go  on  record.  If  you  decide  that 
it  shall  not  go  on  record,  you  know  what  that 
means." 

Turning  to  Alfred,  he  said  :  "  It  means  that  you 
must  abandon  the  name  of  Mullen  upon  pain  of 
being  killed  ;  that  you  must  never  lay  claim  to  kin- 
ship with  us ;  that  you  must  go  forth  with  the 
mark  of  Cain  upon  your  brow." 

The  'Squire  now  took  his  seat.  There  was  a 
short  pause.  Then  one  by  one  the  relatives  arose 
and,  with  becoming  gravity,  made  speeches  repu- 
diating Alfred,  insisting  that  his  sin  against  the 
traditional  honor  of  the  house  of  Mullen  was  un- 
pardonable. 

Pefore  taking  a  final  vote,  Alfred  was  asked  as 


tTNEETTERED.  69 

to  whether  he  had  anything  to  say.  He  made  no 
reply  ;  his  head  was  still  bowed.  A  vote  was  then 
taken  and  Alfred  stood  expelled  from  the  Mullen 
family  forever. 

The  assembly  now  adjourned,  and  all  the  men, 
save  Alfred,  returned  to  the  house,  where  sat  the 
women  in  silence  and  in  sorrow.  Alfred,  the  out- 
cast, had  gone.  When  the  men  entered  the  room 
Mrs.  Mullen  read  in  their  countenances  the  fate  of 
her  boy,  and  she  uttered  a  short,  sharp  scream  of 
anguish  that  she  could  not  repress. 

"  Mourn  not  for  Cain,"  said  'Squire  Mullen, 
whose  twitching  face  belied  the  sternness  of  his 
voice.  Hi3  heart,  too,  was  sadly,  cruelly  torn  by 
what  had  befallen  his  boy,  but  as  best  he  could  he 
maintained  an  outward  calm. 

That  night  a  mob  was  formed  at  'Squire  Mul- 
len's house.  In  silence  the  men  proceeded  to  the 
barroom  where  their  sons  had  imbibed  the  inspira- 
tion for  their  nefarious  crime.  They  dragged  out  all 
of  the  kegs  and  barrels  containing  liquor,  and  emp- 
tied the  contents  on  the  ground.  They  then  set 
the  building  on  fire,  and  it  was  soon  an  ash-heap. 
A  committee  waited  upon  the  barkeeper,  reim- 
bursed him  for  his  losses  and  warned  him  to  never 
more  sell  liquor  in  that  settlement. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DORLAN  WARTHELI,. 

A  few  years  subsequent  to  the  events  recorded  in 

the  last  chapter,  in  the  city  of  R ,  where  our 

country  friends  had  gone  to  live,  on  a  sultry  sum- 
mer evening,  near  sunset,  Morlene  went  forth 
into  the  front  yard  of  her  home  for  the  pur- 
pose of  watering  her  flowers.  She  had  on  an  even- 
ing gown,  while  her  head  was  hidden  in  a  bonnet. 
With  her  back  to  the  street,  she  stood  leveling  the 
water  from  the  hose  at  the  various  flower  groups. 
While  she  was  thus  engaged,  a  man  above  the 
average  in  height,  possessing  a  form  that  conveyed 
the  impression  of  nobility  and  strength,  was  in  the 
act  of  passing  by.  When  he  came  directly  behind 
Morlene,  having  a  keen  relish  for  nature's  su- 
preme efforts  at  the  artistic,  he  was  so  struck  with 
the  outlines  of  her  form  that  he  involuntarily 
stopped. 

"  Now  that  is  what  I  call  beauty,"  he  exclaimed, 
without  knowing  that  he  spoke. 

Morlene  vaguely  felt  that  some  one  had 
stopped,  the  fact  of  the  cessation  of  the  footsteps 
dawning  upon  her  consciousness.  She  turned  full 
around  and  her  eyes  fell  on  the  handsome  face  of 
the  man  gazing  at  her.  His  skin  was  smooth,  his 
(70) 


71 

features  regular,  his  eye  intelligent  and  his  head  so 
formed  as  to  indicate  great  brain  power.  As  to  color 
he  was  black,  but  even  those  prejudiced  to  color  for- 
got that  prejudice  when  they  gazed  upon  this  ebony- 
like  Apollo.  Wherever  he  appeared  he  was  sure  to 
attract  attention  as  a  rare  specimen  of  physical 
manhood.  His  was  evidently  an  open,  frank  na- 
ture, and  his  soul  was  in  his  face. 

As  Morlene  looked  upon  him  .she  felt  her  strength 
give  way.  The  hose  fell  from  her  hands.  Her 
very  soul  sent  up  a  wail :  "  Alas,  O  God,  there  he 
is!  Why  did  you  let  him  come?"  She  turned 
and  fled -to  her  house. 

Dorian  Warthell,  for  such  was  the  name  of  the 
man,  was  much  discomfited  that  he  had  so  terrified 
the  lady,  and  resolved  at  some  convenient  time  to 
apologize  for  the  shock  that  his  behavior  had 
caused.  He  entered  the  yard,  stopped  the  waste 
of  water  from  the  hose  and  proceeded  ori  his  jour- 
ney, carrying  in  his  mind  the  image  of  the  most 
beautiful  woman  on  whom  he  had  ever  laid  eyes. 

Morlene  on  entering  her  room,  locked  the  door, 
burst  into  tears,  buried  her  face  in  her  hands, 
sobbed  violently.  Judge  her  not  too  harshly, 
dear  reader.  Allow  her  this  brief  moment  of  weep- 
ing over  the  re-opened  grave  of  her  long  buried 
ideal ;  for,  one  glance  at  Dorian  Warthell,  say  what 
you  will  against  love  at  sight,  had  somehow  suf- 
ficed to  tell  her  penetrating  spirit  that  he  was  the 


72  UNFETTERED. 

-{;-•  V:r;  -••:., 

one  mail,  who,  had  she  been  free,  could  have  ex- 
acted that  full  strength  of  love,  which,  struggle  as 
painfully  as  she  might,  would  not  yield  allegiance 
to  Harry  whom  she  had  married  under  a  species 
of  duress.  Morlene  dropped  her  hands  from  her 
face,  forced  a  smile  to  appear,  stamped  a  pretty 
foot  upon  the  floor  and  said  between  gritted  teeth  : 
,  "-A  vaunt,  ye  idle  dreams  of  youth  ;  I  am  a  womgn 
now ,  a  man's  lawfully  wedded  wife  !  Come  not 
here  to  haunt  me  with  visions  of  what  might  have 
been!" ; 

When  Harry  came  home  from  his  work  that 
evening  Morlene  met  him  with  a  greeting  of  more 
than  usual  warmth,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Poor  Har- 
ry, your  place  in  my  heart  is  the  safer,  now  that 
my  dreams  of  other  days  have  been  met  in  con- 
crete form  and  gloriously  vanquished."  She  now 
consoled  herself  with  the  thought  that  she  would 
one  day  love  Harry  as  she  had  always  desired  to 
love  a  husband.  Happy  in  this  thought,  she  retired 
to  rest,  and,  much  to  her  chagrin  and  annoyance, 
dreamed  of  the  handsome  stranger  whom  she  had 
seen. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CUPID  SHOULD  BE  MORE  CAREFUL. 

"  This  is  a  matter  worthy  of  investigation," 
mused  Dorian  Warthell,  some  few  moments  after 
his  chance  meeting  with  Morlene.  His  head  was 
inclined  forward  slightly,  an  unwonted  sparkle 
was  in  his  eye,  and  half  a  smile  played  upon  his 
serious  face.  His  mind  was  seeking  to  grasp  the 
outlines  of  that  beautiful  face  which  he  had  just 
passed. 

" Never,"  said  he,  "has  Dorian  Warthell,  the 
serious,  allowed  physical  beauty  to  so  charm  him. 
But  is  it  mere  physical  beauty  that  has  so  suddenly 
thrown  itself  across  the  pathway  of  my  mi-nd  so 
that  it  will  not  move  on  ?•  Has  nothing  met  me 
more  than  that  lovely  form,  the  head  of  a  queen, 
angel  face,  eyes  that  thrill?  I  may  be  mistaken, 
but  methinks  that  nature  has  given  that  choice 
dressing  to  a  choice  spirit.  At  any  rate  I  hope  to 
meet  her  again." 

Dorian  Warthell  arrived  at  his  boarding  place 
within  a  few  minutes  and,  when  seated  at  the  sup- 
per table,  spoke  as  follows  to  Mrs  Morgan,  his 

(73) 


74  UNFETTERED. 

landlady  :  "I  notice  that  our  street  has  some  new 
denizens  since  the  time  of  my  sojourn  here  a  few 
years  ago." 

"Yes,"  replied  Mrs.  Morgan,  "There  are  Mr. 
Crutchfield,  Mr.  Yearby  and  Mr.  Dalton.  These 
gentlemen  have  all  come  to  this  street  since  you 
were  with  us  last." 

"  Who  lives  in  that  beautiful  cottage  painted 
white,  with  that  wonderful  assortment  of  prettily 
arranged  flowers  in  the  front  yard  ?" 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dalton  live  there,"  replied  Mrs. 
Morgan,  looking  intently  at  Dorian,  seeking  to 
fathom  the  secret  purpose  which  she  felt  inspired 
his  question  ;  for  she  knew  that  Dorian  paid  but 
little  attention  to  the  matter  of  houses  and 
neighbois. 

"  Have  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dalton  any  children — a 
daughter?"  asked  Dorian,  giving  strict  attention 
to  the  food  on  his  plate. 

u  No ;  they  are  childless,"  said  Mrs.  Morgan,  her 
interest  growing. 

"  I  saw  a  young  woman  up  there  as  I  passed  this 
evening  ;  I  suppose  she  is  visiting  them.  " 

"  I  see  the  point — a  young  woman,"  said  Mrs. 
Morgan  inwardly. 

Aloud  she  said,  "  Perhaps  so.  If  you  could  de- 
scribe her  I  might  be  able  to  tell  who  she  is." 

Dorian  looked  up  quickly  as  much  as  to  say, 
"Who  in  the  world  can  describe  that  beautiful 


UNFETTERED.  75 

woman."  He  kept  that  reflection  to  himself.  He 
began  to  describe  the  lady,  when  Mrs.  Morgan  in- 
terrupted him  to  say. 

"Oh,  that  was  Mrs.  Dalton — Mrs.  Harry  Dai- 
ton — undoubtedly  the  most  beautiful  Negro  girl 
in  the  country." 

Dorian  finished  his  meal  in  silence.  He  in- 
wardly belabored  himself  for  having  allowed  his 
mind  to  be  so  taken  up  with  the  image  of  a 
married  woman.  Repairing  to  his  room,  he  was 
soon  deeply  engrossed  in  a  book,  as  thoroughly 
oblivious  of  Morlene,  he  thought,  as  if  he  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  such  a  person. 

On  the  following  day  at  ten  o'clock  Morlene 
called  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Morgan,  it  being  her 
usual  time  for  giving  music  lessons  to  that  lady's 
young  daughter.  The  girl  had  gone  away 
on  an  errand  for  her  mother  and  had  not  yet  re- 
turned. Morlene  entered  the  music  room  and  de- 
cided to  amuse  herself  by  playing  until  the  child 
should  come.  Dorian  was  in  a  room  directly  over 
the  one  in  which  Morlene  was  to  play.  Neither 
of  them  knew  of  the  presence  of  the  other  in  the 
house. 

Morlene  first  began  to  play  a  light  air  upon 
the  piano.  But  as  she  struck  the  keys  and  brought 
forth  harmonies,  other  and  deeper  emotions  in 
her  bosom  craved  for  expression.  Soon  she  was 
making  the  piano  tell  her  heart's  full  story,  to  be 


76          UNFETTERED. 

borne  away,  as  she  thought,  upon  the  wings  of  the 
passing  breeze.  The  sounds  floated  up  to  Dor- 
ian's open  window  and  into  his  room.  At  first  he 
slightly  knitted  his  brow,  fearing  that  he  was  to  be 
bored  by  some  mechanical  performer ;  but  the 
frown  relaxed  and  gave  place  to  a  look  of  supreme 
contentment  as  the  harmonies  deepened.  He 
closed  the  book  that  he  was  reading,  folded  his 
arms  and  gazed  out  of  his  window  into  the  dis- 
tance. He  was  simply  enraptured  and  had  a  keen 
desire  to  know  who  it  was  that  could  make  lifeless 
matter  pay  such  eloquent  tribute  to  the  longings 
of  the  human  soul. 

At  length  Morlene  began  to  play  and  sing ; 

"  John  Brown's  body  lies  moulding  in  the  clay; 
John  Brown's  body  lies  moulding  in  the  clay; 
John  Brown's  body  lies  moulding  in  the  clay, 
As  we  go  marching  on. 
Glory  !  Glory  !  Hallelujah  ! 
Glory  !  Glory  !  Hallelujah  ! 
Glory  !  Glory  !  Hallelujah  ! 
As  we  go  marching  on  !" 

Morlene's  voice  was  a  rich  soprano  and  her  tones 
were  so  round,  full  and  melodious  that  they  made 
one  feel  that  they  did  not  belong  to  earth.  Her 
voice  seemed  to  shake  loose  from  each  word 
tremblingly  in  that  part  of  the  song  setting  forth 
the  sad  fate  of  John  Brown.  But  as  she  reached 
the  words,  "  Hallelujah,"  the  notes  swelled  into 
a  grand  pean  of  triumph,  her  voice  trilling 


UNFETTERED.  77 

so  wondrously,  even  upon  such  a  high  elevation. 
Then  came  the  refrain  in  low,  reverential  tones, 
beauty  muffling  itself  in  the  presence  of  higher 
sentiments. 

Dorian  Warthell  sprang  to  his  feet,  clasped  his 
hands  over  his  ears,  saying  half  aloud  :  "  Spare  me! 
Oh,  spare  me!  I  cannot,  I  cannot  hear  those  strains 
and  perform  the  tasks  before  me.  And  yet  I 
must !  I  must !  I  must !" 

Charles  Sumner,  who,  upon  the  floor  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  in  tones  that  resounded 
throughout  the  world,  urged  our  Republic  to  clear 
her  skirts  of  the  blood  of  the  slave  ;  Horace  Gree- 
ley.  who,  daily  in  the  columns  of  his  great  news- 
paper, refused  sleep  to  the  American  conscience 
until  slavery  was  extirpated  ;  Henry  Ward  Beech- 
er,  whose  eloquence  across  the  seas  quieted  the 
growlings  of  the  British  Lion  all  but  ready  to  aid 
the  South ;  these  three  men,  ere  they  fell  asleep, 
saw  fit  to  abandon  the  political  party  under  whose 
banner  they  had  hitherto  fought. 

And  now  Dorian  Warthell  felt  called  upon  to 
do  likewise.  On  the  eve  of  the  severing  of  his  ten- 
der relations,  some  angel  voice  has  come  to  sere- 
nade his  Soul  and  conjure  up  the  hallowed  pasjt. 
Ah  !  '  tis  painful  when  the  path  of  duty  must  be) 
paved  with  one's  heart  strings.  It  is  also  some-y 
times  strewn  with  one's  blood, 


CHAPTER  XL 

A  STORMY  INTERVIEW. 

On  a  night  sliortly  subsequent  to  the  day  on 
which  the  playing  and  singing  of  Morlene  had  so 
greatly  affected  Dorian,  he  had  a  visitor. 

' 'How  goes  it,  Dorl,  old  boy"  said  his  visitor, 
slapping  Dorian  on  the  shoulder  familiarly. 

"I  am  doing  well,  I  hope,  Congressman  Blood- 
worth.  Accept  a  seat  in  my  humble  quarters," 
Dorian  replied.  Congressman  Bloodworth  droppad 
into  a  chair,  crossed  his  short  legs  and  began 
stroking  his  red  mustache. 

Congressman  Bloodworth  was  a  white  man, 
with  an  abnormally  large  head  and  a  frame  some- 
what corpulent.  His  complexion  was  sallow  and 
his  skin  very  coarse.  His  eyes  were  large  but  ex- 
ceedingly tame  in  appearance.  He  lifted  his  hat 
from  his  head  revealing  an  abundance  of  hair  of  a 
brilliantly  red  hue. 

Dorian  took  a  seat  at  some  little  distance  from 
Congressman  Bloodworth  anticipating  that  the  in- 
terview was  not  to  end  pleasantly. 

"Well,  Dorian,  I  have  come  for  my  answer," 
said  Congressman  Bloodworth  in  his  gross  voice, 

"Mr,  Bloodworth,  when  we  were  last  together  I 


UNFETTERED.  79 

gave  you  to  understand  very  fully  what  to  expect 
of  me.  Nothing  has  transpired  since  to  cause  me 
to  change  and  I  am  sure  that  I  shall  adhere  to  the 
course  which  I  have  chosen,  unto  the  end,"  said 
Dorian,  in  a  pleasant  but  most  positive  manner. 

"Dorian,  have  you  a  memory?"  queried  Con- 
gressman Blood  worth. 

Dorian  nodded  assent. 

"Then  bear  me  witness,  sir."  So  saying  he 
took  from  his  pocket  a  typewritten  document, 
which  he  proceeded  to  read. 

He  began,  "From  the  year  1619  until  January 
i,  1863,  the  Negro  race  was  subjected  to  slavery  in 
the  United  States.  The  superior  numbers,  greater 
intelligence  and  determined  spirit  of  the  enslavers 
prevented  the  enslaved  from  cherishing  any  hope 
of  setting  themselves  free.  The  great  task  of  re- 
demption which  the  Negroes  saw  no  way  of  accom- 
plishing for  themselves,  the  Republican  party  ac- 
complished for  them  at  a  cost  of  much  treasure  and 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  precious  lives.  This 
party  enacted  such  laws  as  made  a  recurrence  of 
slavery  absolutely  impossible.  It  clothed  the 
freedman  with  the  rights  of  a  citizen.  It  extended 
to  him  the  strong  arm  of  the  Federal  Government 
in  the  protection  of  those  rights.  The  claim  that 
these  facts  establish  over  the  allegiance  of  every 
Negro,  I  leave  to  the  judgment  of  any  sane  mind. 


80  UNFETTERED. 

So  much  for  the  relationship  which  by  implication 
should  exist  between  you  and  the  political  party 
named. 

"I  now  advert  to  my  own  peculiar  claims  upon 
you.  Your  early  years  you  spent  in  school  and 
received  great  mental  development.  You  found 
employment  as  a  stable  boy  in  the  home  of  an 
eminent  statesman.  During  your  leisure  hours 
you  perused  his  library  and  became  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  statesman. 
Owing  to  your  residence  in  the  South,  there  was 
no  outlet  for  your  powers,  as  the  South  was  not 
permitting  men  with  black  faces  to  aid  in  running 
the  government.  By  accident  we  met,  you  and  I. 
I  discovered  that  you  had  great  talent.  I  was  lack- 
ing in  native  ability.  I  decided  that,  as  you  had 
the  necessary  brains  and  I  the  white  face,  we 
might  form  a  combination.  You  planned,  I  exe- 
cuted; you  acquired  information,  I  exhibited  it. 
By  your  secret  aid  I  went  to  Congress.  Through 
you  I  arose  from  the  ranks  to  a  commanding  place 
in  the  public  eye.  For  the  past  few  years  my 
speeches  in  and  out  of  Congress  have  been  re- 
garded as  so  full  of  merit  that  they  have  been  used 
as  highly  acceptable  campaign  documents.  These 
speeches  were  composed  by  you.  In  return  for 
your  furnishing  me  brain  I  have  paid  you  every 
cent  of  money  which  I  have  received  as  compensa- 
tion for  public  service,  Making  use  of  my  white 


UNFETTERED.  8l 

face  you  have  been  able  to  allow  full  play  to  your 
intellect,  which  delights  in  grappling  with  great 
questions. 

"Dorian  Warthell,  I  come  to  you  to-night  with 
this  carefully  prepared  statement,   that  I  may  se- 
cure your  final  answer.     Will  you  or  will  you  not  ? 
continue  working  through  me  and  for  the  Repub- 
lican party  ?  " 

Congressman  Bloodworth  folded  the  paper  from 
which  he  had  read  and  looked  steadily  at  Dor- 
Ian. 

Dorian  replied,  "Congressman  Bloodworth,  I 
am  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  Republican 
party  is  in  error  in  the  chief  tenet  of  its  present 
day  creed.  My  devotion  to  truth  is  far  greater ..« 
than  my  devotion  to  party.  And,  Mr.  Bloodworth, 
it  was  truth  that  set  my  people  free.  The  Repub- 
lican party  became  the  willing  instrument  of  truth 
to  effect  that  result.  Now  that  the  result  has  been 
achieved,  I  must  not  confound  the  power  with  its 
instrument.  I  worship  at  the  shrine  of  truth,  not 
at  that  of  its  temporary  agents.  My  spirit  is  free 
to  choose  its  own  allegiance,  for  no  human  instru- 
mentality has  freed  my  spirit;  its  freedom  came 
from  God." 

"Sir,"  spoke  out  Congressman  Bloodworth, 
"You  denv  my  and  the  Republican  party's  author- 
ity over  you,  in  spite  of  what  we  have  done  for 
you  ?  " 


82  UNFETTERED. 

"I  assert  that  no  event  in  the  history  of  the 
world  has  yet  happened  that  makes  it  my  duty  to 
follow  error,"  said  Dorian  vehemently. 

"You  shall  die  the  death  of  a  dog,"  shouted  Con- 
gressman Bloodworth  in  rage. 

The  two  men  had  now  risen  and  were  glaring 
fiercely  at  each  other.  Congressman  Bloodworth 
looked  as  though  it  would  please  him  to  tear  Dor- 
Ian  to  shreds ;  but  Dorian's  powerful,  well  con- 
structed frame  was  too  potent  an  argument  against 
such  an  attempt. 

Congressman  Bloodworth  turned  away  and  left 
the  room.  Murder  was  in  his  heart  and  stamped 
its  impress  on  every  lineament  of  his  face. 

-*/•  ,fe%' 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MORLENK  AND  DORIAN. 

The  day  following  the  night  of  the  stormy  in- 
terview was  Morlene's  day  to  give  lessons  at  Dor- 
ian's boarding  place.  The  teaching  over,  Morlene 
proceeded  to  amuse  herself  by  playing  on  the 
piano.  She  was  in  a  buoyant  mood  and  was 
disposing  of  first  one  and  then  another  wild, 
dashing  air. 

Desirous  of  a  diversion,  Dorian  came  down  from 
his  room  and  glided  stealthily  into  the  parlor  to 
listen  unobserved  to  Morlene.  Great  was  his  as- 
tonishment on  discovering  that  the  beautiful  lady 
whom  he  had  passed  was  none  other  than  the  ac- 
complished pianist  and  divine  singer.  For  a  few 
moments  he  lived  a  divided  existence,  his  eye.  sur- 
veying the  beautiful  form  of  Morlene,  while  his 
ear  was  appropriating  the  rich  harmonies  which 
her  splendid  touch  was  evoking  from  the  keyboard. 

With  a  merry  laugh  at  her  own  frolicsomeness, 
Morlene  struck  the  piano  keys  a  farewell  blow  and 
arose  to  go.  Wheeling  around  she  saw  Dorian. 
The  light  died  out  of  her  face.  A  feeling  of  terror 
crept  over  her  as  the  thought  occurred  that  fate, 
relentless  fate,  seemed  determined  to  throw  that 
fascinating  stranger  in  her  pathway. 

(83) 


84  UNFETTERED. 

"  Do  not  be  angry  with  me  for  my  intrusion," 
said  Dorian.  u  My  soul  is  the  seat  of  a  long  con- 
tinued storm  these  days,  and  your  music  was  so 
refreshing,"  he  continued. 

Dorian's  air  of  deference  and  his  pleasing,  well 
modulated  voice  caused  Morlene  to  at  once  recover 
her  composure. 

The  note  of  sadness  in  Dorian's  voice  caught 
Morlene's  ear  and  her  sympathetic  nature  at  once 
craved  to  know  his  troubles  that  she  might,  if 
possible,  dissipate  them.  She  saw  that  Dorian  was 
depending  upon  her  to  begin  a  conversation  as 
an  assurance  that  he  had  given  no  offense.  Mor- 
lene sat  down  in  the  seat  nearest  her. 

"  You  speak  of  a  storm,"  she  said.  "  When  you 
speak  thus  you  arouse  my  interest,  for  to  my  mind 
a  storm  i^  the  most  sublime  occurrence  in  nature. 
To  see  the  winds  aroused ;  to  hear  their  mad  rush- 
ing; to  behold  them  as  with  the  multiplied  strength 
of  giants  they  grasp  and  overturn  the  strongest 
works  of  man's  hands — to  see  this,  inspires  one  with 
awe  and  reverence  for  the  great  force  that  pervades 
this  universe,  and  impels  us,  whether  we  so  will  or 
not,  to  conform  to  its  ripening  purposes. 

"  If  there  is  a  storm  in  your  bosom,  matters  ex- 
terior to  yourself  have  produced  it.  As  an  ad- 
mirer of  storms  I  beg  you  to  lay  bare  to  me  such 
portions  of  the  journeyings  of  the  winds  as  a 
stranger  may  be  permitted  to  view," 


UNFETTERED.  85 

"  Do  you  believe  in  strangers  ?"  asked  Dorian, 
"I  hold  that  no  human  beings  are,  at  bottom, 
strangers  to  each  other.  With  Bmerson  I  hold  that 
( there  is  one  mind  common  to  all  individual  men. 
Every  man  is  an  inlet  to  the  same  and  to  all  the 
same.  Who  hath  access  to  this  universal  mind  is 
a  party  to  all  that  is  or  can  be  done,  for  this  is  the 
only  and  sovereign  agent.' 

"  Those  souls  are  quickest  to  recognize  this  fact 
which  are  best  equipped  to  reveal  themselves  and 
to  comprehend  the  revelations  of  other  souls.  We 
know  some  souls  at  a  glance  as  thoroughly  as  one 
soul  ever  knows  another." 

To  these  observations  Morlene  made  no  reply. 
Too  well  did  she  know  that  the  human  being  be- 
fore her,  was  somehow,  no  stranger  to  her. 

"  Starting  out  with  the  assumption  that  you 
shall  find  nothing  strange  in  me  when  you  fully 
understand  me,  I  am  ready  to  show  you  the  path- 
way of  the  storm,"  continued  Dorian. 

u  Thank  you,"  said  Morlene,  smiling,  and  par- 
tially revealing  a  set  of  teeth  as  beautiful  as  fair 
lady  ever  desired. 

"  A  presidential  election  is  fast  approaching.  I 
have  heretofore  labored  with  the  Republican 
party.  In  this  campaign  I  part  company  with 
them,"  said  Dorian. 

u  My  dear  sir,"  said  Morlene,  rising,  the  picture 
of  excitement,  "  Are  you  a  Democrat  ?" 


Dorian  smiled  at  the  intensity  of  the  feeling  dis- 
played in  the  tone  of  voice  used  for  the  question. 
"Oh,  no,"  said  he,  reassuringly.  "In  the 
South,  Democracy's  chief  tenets  are  white  man's 
supremacy  and  exclusiveness  in  governmental 
affairs.  Not  having  a  white  skin,  self-preservation 
would  prevent  me  from  entering  the  folds  of  that 
party." 

Morlene  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief.  She  said,  "  I 
am  glad  to  know  that  the  seeming  hopelessness  of 
our  plight  in  the  JBouth  has  not  caused  you  to 
seek  to  influence  us  to  surrender  to  this  dictum  of 
Southern  Democracy.  Proceed,  if  you  please." 

"  I  am  thoroughly  displeased  with  the  policy  of 
the  Republican  party  toward  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  and  in  spite  of  the  endear- 
ing relations  of  the  past,  I  am  moved  to  part  com- 
pany with  the  party  on  this  issue,"  remarked  Dor- 
Ian. 

"Oh,    I   am   an   enthusiastic   expansionist,   Mr. 

^^___  » 

"  Warthell  is  my  name,"  supplied  Dorian. 

"  Mr.  Warthell,"  said  Morlene,  the  glow  of  elo- 
quence on  her  face,  "I  have  a  dream.  I  dream 
that  wars  and  revolutions  shall  one  day  cease.  The 
classification  of  mankind  into  groups  called  na- 
tions, affords  a  feeling  of  estrangement  which  de- 
stroys or  modifies  the  thought  of  universal  brother- 
hood, and  gives  rise  to  the  needless  bickerings 


which  result  in  wars.  I  delight  in  any  movement 
that  sweeps  away  these  pseudo-national  boundaries. 
The  more  separate  nations  that  are  congealed  under 
one  head,  the  less  is  the  area  where  conflicts  are 
probable.  When  the  tendency  to  consolidate  final- 
ly merges  all  governments  into  one,  wars  shall 
cease.  Our  territorial  expansion  is  but  the  march 
of  destiny  toward  the  ultimate  goal  of  all  things. 
I  am  delighted  to  see  our  nation  thus  move  forward, 
because  we  have  such  an  elastic  form  of  govern- 
ment, so  responsive  to  the  needs  and  sentiments  of. 
the  people  that  bloody  revolutions  become  unnec- 
essary wherever  our  flag  floats.  Just  think  how 
much  our  expansion  makes  for  universal  peace  by 
erasing  the  thought  of  separateness  existing  be- 
tween peoples,  and  giving  to  the  federated  "powers 
such  an  ideal  form  of  government.  "1 

"  When  our  flag  floats  over  the  whole  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere  there  will  be  nobody  over 
here  to  fight  us;  we  shall  not  fight  among  ourselves 
and  we  shall  dare  the  European  and  Asiatic  pow- 
ers to  go  to  war." 

"You  are  indeed  an  expansionist,"  remarked 
Dorian. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Morlene,  wrought  up  in  the  sub- 
ject that  was  stirring  the  American  people. 

"Some  are  expansionists  for  the  sake:of  finding 
outlets  for  the  ever-increasing  excess  of  our  produc- 
tion. They  hold  that  we  are  producing  far  more 


88  UNFETTERED. 

than  what  we  can  consume,  and  must  have  outside 
buyers  to  avoid  a  terrible  congestion  at  home. 
Others  are  expansionists  on  the  ground  that  outly- 
ing possessions  are  a  strategetical  necessity  in  the 
time  of  war.  Our  statesmen  are  expansionists, 
some  of  them,  because  our  nation's  becoming  a 
world  power  gives  a  broader  scope  for  their  intel- 
lects. Some  are  expansionists  because  they  desire 
to  see  weaker  people  have  the  benefits  of  a  higher 
civilization.  While  I  admit  the  possible  weight 
of  these  various  contentions,  my  interest  in  ex- 
pansion is  broadly  humanitarian.  England  was 
at  one  time  a  seething  mass  of  warring  tribes. 
The  expansion  of  a  central  power  over  the  entire 
islands  brought  order  out  of  chaos.  Let  the  pro- 
cess extend  to  the  entire  earth  as  fast  as  honorable 
opportunity  presents  itself,  and  may  the  stars  and 
stripes  lead  in  the  new  evangel  of  universal 
peade"  Thus  spoke  Morlene. 

"Beautiful,  beautiful  dream.  But  it  is  my  fear 
that  enthusiasm  over  expansion  may  cause  us  to 
lose  sight  of  fundamental  tenets  of  our  political 
faith.  This  leads  me  to  state  the  point  of  differ- 
ence between  myself  and  the  Republican  party,"  said 
Dorian. 

The  subject  was  one,  as  may  be  seen,  of  absorbing 
interest  to  Morlene,  and  she  leaned  forward  slightly, 
eager  to  catch  each  word  that  Dorian  might  utter. 
He  began:  "The  Republican  party  has  not  informed 


UNFETTERED.  89 

the  world  as  to  what  will  be  the  ultimate  status 
of  the  Filipino.  In  the  final  adjustment  of  things, 
whatever  that  may  be,  will  the  Filipino  be  able 
to  say  that  he  stands  upon  the  same  plane,  politi- 
cally and  otherwise,  with  all  other  free  and  equal 
human  beings.  I  labored  earnestly  to  have  the 
Republican  party  to  declare  that  no  violence 
would  be  done  to  our  national  conception  that 
every  man  is  inherently  the  political  equal  of 
every  other  man.  The  party  has  promised  that 
full  physical,  civil  and  religious  liberty  shall  be 
guaranteed.  On  the  question  of  political  liberty 
there  is  silence.  Because  of  this  silence  I  leave  it." 

uln  what  manner,  Mr.  Warthell,  do  you  hope  to 
affect  the  result  in  the  pending  campaign  ?  "  en- 
quired Morlene. 

"The  Negroes,  you  know,  are  vitally  affected  by 
the  issues  in  this  campaign.  With  England  im- 
posing its  will  upon  India,  with  the  Southern 
whites  imposing  their  will  on  the  Negroes,  only 
one  great  branch  of  the  white  race  exists  which  is 
not  imposing  its  will  upon  a  feebler  race.  I  allude 
to  the  white  people  of  the  North. 

"  Should  our  nation  impose  its  will  upon  the 
Filipinos,  by  the  force  of  arms  and  without  the  un- 
derlying purpose  of  ultimately  granting  to  them 
full  political  liberty,  the  weaker  peoples  the  world 
over  will  lose  their  only  remaining  advocate  in  the 
white  race,  namely  the  people  of  the  North. 


96  UNFETTERED. 

"I  hope  to  be  able  to  show  the  Negroes  that 
they,  of  all  citizens  in  this  country,  cannot  afford 
to  permit  either  silence  as  to,  or  the  abandonment 
of,  the  doctrine  of  the  inherent  equality  of  all 
men.  The  Negroes  of  the  pivotal  states,  when, 
united,  can  easily  decide  the  election  in  whatever 
direction  they  choose.  It  is  my  purpose  to  attempt 
to  weld  together  the  Negroes  in  the  hope  of  de- 
feating any  man  that  will  not  unequivocally  and 
openly  declare  in  favor  of  the  ultimate  political 
equality  of  the  Filipinos." 

"Are  you  not  leaning  on  a  broken  reed,  Mr. 
Warthell?"  asked  Morlene  in  earnest  tones. 
"Have  the  Negroes  acquired  sufficient  self-con- 
fidence to  feel  justified  in  pitting  their  judg- 
ment against  that  of  the  Republican  party? 
Can  the  recent  beneficiary  be  so  soon  transformed 
into  a  dictator?  More  important  still,  can  you  up- 
root those  tender  memories  which  flourish  in  the 
sentimental  bosom  of  the  Negro,  associating,  in- 
dissolubly  his  freedom  with  the  Republican 
party?"  she  asked. 

Dorian  sighed  deeply.  He  recalled  how  madly 
he  had  to  fight  against  the  tender  memories 
aroused  by  Morlene's  singing  when  we  saw  him  so 
deeply  stirred.  He  remembered  how  that  on  that 
occasion  her  playing  and  singing  had  carried  his 
mind  back  to  those  great  days  when  the  freedom 
of  the  Negroes  was  in  the  balances.  He  knew 


UNFETTERED.  9! 

what  an  effort  it  required  on  his  part  to  persuade 
his  heart  to  allow  him  to  strike  a  blow  at  that  hith- 
erto hallowed  name — Republican. 

Dorian  not  replying,  Morlene  resumed,  "Mr. 
Warthell,  in  attempting  to  disillusion  the  Negroes 
with  regard  to  the  Republican  party  you  shall 
march  against  one  of  the  strongest  attachments  in 
all  of  human  history.  I  have  known  deaths  to 
result  from  assailing  attachments  far  less  deep- 
seated  than  that.  May  a  special  providence  pre- 
serve you." 

Morlene  now  arose  to  go,  her  beautiful  face  giv- 
ing signs  of  the  fear  for  Dorian's  safety  that  had 
stolen  into  her  heart. 

Subsequent  happenings  showed  how  well 
grounded  were  her  fears. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  WHOLE  CITY  STIRRED. 

The  editor  of  one  of  the  leading  morning  papers 

of  R sat  at  his  desk  one  afternoon,  knitting  his 

brows  as  he  read  a  document  spread  out  before  him. 
Having  finished  reading  it  once,  he  began  the  sec- 
ond reading,  wearing  on  his  face  the  same  intent 
expression.  Having  concluded  the  second  reading, 
he  laid  the  article  down,  rested  his  head  on  the 
back  of  his  chair  and  closed  his  eyes  as  if  in  deep 
meditation.  After  a  few  moments'  reflection  he  de- 
cided upon  the  third  reading  of  the  document. 
When  he  had  finished  this  last  perusal,  he  went  to 
the  telephone  and  summoned  Dorian  Warthell  to 
an  immediate  conference  with  him.  Dorian  soon 
arrived  and  was  ushered  into  the  editors's  private 
office. 

"  Be  seated,"  said  the  editor,  in  a  most  cordial 
manner.  "  Mr.  Warthell,"  said  he,  "I  have  read  your 
document  the  third  time  and  I  now  desire  to  ask  you 
two  questions.  The  character  of  your  answers  to 
them  will  determine  whether  I  shall  propound  to 
you  a  third."  Looking  earnestly  into  Dorian's  face, 
he  enquired,  "  Was  it  your  desire  and  expectation 
that  this  article  should  be  published  ?  " 

(92) 


UNFETTERED.  93 

"Most  assuredly,"  said  Dorian,  manifesting  sur- 
prise that  the  editor  should  deem  it  necessary  to  ask 
such  a  question. 

"  Again,"  said  the  editor,  "  are  you  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  moods  of  your  people?" 

"It  is  my  impression  that  few  men  have  studied 
them  more  earnestly  than  I  have,"  said  Dorian. 

"  I  see  that  I  must  ask  my  third  question. 
Thinking  that  your  article  would  be  published, 
knowing  your  people,  have  you  exercised  foresight 
enough  to  have  your  life  insured  ?  If  you  have 
not,  fail  not  to  do  so  to-night ;  for  a  straw  in 
a  whirlwind  will  account  itself  blessed  in  compari- 
son with  your  lot  after  this  article  appears  to-mor- 
row morning,"  said  the  editor. 

"  I  am  content  to  abide  by  the  consequences  of 
my  act,"  said  Dorian,  quietly. 

"  Your  blood  be  upon  your  own  head,"  said  the 
editor.  This  brought  the  interview  to  a  close  and 
Dorian  took  his  departure. 

The  next  morning  the  following  seemingly 
harmless  article  from  the  pen  of  Dorian  Warthell 
appeared  in  the  paper  whose  editor  we  saw  ponder- 
ing it.  It  ran  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  great  crisis  of  the  sixties,  the  Republi- 
can party  appeared  before  the  sepulchre  of  the 
buried  manhood  of  the  Negro  race,  called  it  forth 
from  the  tomb  and  divested  it  of  the  habiliments  of 
the  grave.  This  portentous  achievement  shook 


94  UNFETTERED. 

the  earth.  The  pillars  of  the  Republic  tottered  but 
were  caught  within  the  titantic  grasp  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  which  thereupon  made  the  foundations 
and  superstructure  more  secure  than  ever  before. 
As  long  as  the  ocean  mirrors  in  her  bosom  the  face 
of  the  king  of  day,  just  so  long  shall  the  hearts  of 
the  Negroes  cherish  the  memories  of  the  noble  army 
of  men  who  wrought  so  nobly  for  humanity. 

"  To  further  the  ends  so  righteously  sought  a 
party  name  was  adopted  and  party  machinery  cre- 
ated by  them.  When  their  tasks  were  done  and 
they  had,  for  the  most  part,  been  gathered  to  their 
fathers,  other  leaders  arose  and  began  to  operate 
under  this  same  name  and  with  this  same  machin- 
ery. The  charge  has  often  been  made  that  we  be- 
stow upon  these  instruments  of  our  salvation  the 
same  devotion  that  we  yielded  to  the  creators  and 
original  wielders  of  the  instruments.  It  is  said 
that  we  blindly  follow  the  party  name  regardless 
of  those  wielding  it  and  the  use  to  which  it  is  put. 
The  charge  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following 
comparison  : 

"  A  noble  man  does  a  cripple  a  kindness.  The 
man  dies  and  a  thrifty  neighbor  comes  into  posses- 
sion of  the  shoes,  clothes  ancl  hat  that  he  wore  at 
the  time  of  helping  the  cripple.  The  neighbor 
puts  on  the  leavings  of  the  dead  man,  appears  be- 
fore the  cripple  ancl  demands  his  allegiance  because 
of  the  clothes  worn.  The  cripple  yields  the  devo- 


UNFETTERED.  95 

tion  asked  for,  giving  evidence  that  he  was  ready 
to  consider  the  dead  man  and  the  clothes  as  one 
and  inseparable.  We  are  charged  with  acting  like 
unto  this  cripple,  in  the  matter  .of  rendering  devo- 
tion to  the  party  name  and  machinery,  the  clothes 
left  behind  by  the  men  who  did  the  actual  work  of 
liberating  us. 

"  In  the  past  we  have  had  no  suitable  opportuni- 
ty to  clear  by  an  overt  act  our  skirts  of  the  charge 
which  has  been  exceedingly  damaging  to  our  repu- 
tation for  intelligence  ;  for  the  policies  of  the  party 
have  been  mainly  good.  But  unforeseen  circum- 
stances have  brought  us  face  to  face  with  the  golden 
opportunity  of  proving  that  the  picture  is  over- 
drawn, that  we  have  not  riveted  political  chains 
upon  ourselves,  to  take  the  place  of  the  actual 
chains  torn  from  us  at  so  fearful  a  cost.  While 
adding  to  our  own  good  name  we  can  also  do  the 
cause  of  humanity  untold  good. 

"  The  Spanish-American  war  has  brought  us  into 
contact  with  many  million  Filipinos.  We  must 
decide  what  are  to  be  our  relations  with  them. 
Shall  we  or  shall  we  not  deal  with  them  on  the 
principle  that  they  are  and  shall  ever  be  regarded  as 
our  equals,  is  the  burning  question  with  the  Amer- 
ican people.  The  party  with  which  we  have  hith- 
erto affiliated,  claims  to  be  so  busily  engaged  with 
our  present  duties  on  the  Islands  that  they  must 
postpone  consideration  as  to  the  final  status  of  the 


96  UNFETTERED. 

people  thereof.  The  Negroes  can  favor  only  one 
solution  of  the  problem,  the  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  all  men  are  created  equal.  They  should  favor 
no  postponement  of  a  decision,  having  themselves 
suffered  from  a  postponement  that  lasted  from  mid- 
night of  July  4th,  1776,  until  January  ist,  1863, 
the  time  that  elapsed  between  the  promulgation  of 
the  declaration  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  and 
the  application  of  that  declaration  to  the  American 
slave. 

"  In  view  of  the  silence  of  the  Republican  party 
upon  the  question  of  the  ultimate  status  of  the  Fili- 
pinos, it  has  been  decided  to  organize  a  party  that 
will  spurn  silence,  that  will  insist  that  l  Old  Glory' 
shall  continue  to  float  over  human  beings  that  can 
look  each  other  in  the  face  and  shout  '  We  are  all 
equals ;  no  man  among  us  is,  in  any  sense,  less  free 
than  another.' 

"  All  American  citizens  willing  to  consecrate  their 
political  efforts  to  the  attainment  of  this  end  are 
invited  to  elect  delegates  to  be  present  at  Sinclair 
Hall  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  incoming  month.  The 
Negroes  having  been  the  chief  sufferers  from  the 
non-recognition  of  the  principles  for  which  our  new 
party  will  stand,  are  expected  to  take  the  lead  in 
the  new  organization. 

"  Yours  for  humanity, 

"  DORLAN  WARTHEU,." 

The  manifest  purpose  of  Dorian  to  withdraw  the 
Negro  vote  from  the  Republicans  with  the  view  of 


UNFETTERED.  97 

forming  a  new  party  created  a  profound  sensation. 
It  was  d'scussed  by  white  and  colored  people,  was 
the  theme  of  conversation  in  the  street  cars,  hotel 
corridors,  stores,  barber  shops,  saloons,  brothels, 
and  on  every  street  corner. 

There  are  in  the  South,  men  and  women,  white 
and  colored,  who  are  endeavoring  to  meet  every 
issue  that  arises  upon  the  highest  possible  plane. 
The  sentiments  of  such  people  found  expression  in 
the  following  editorial  which  accompanied  Dor- 
ian's pronunciamento.  It  ran  as  follows  : 

UA  Negro  has  been  found  to  display  political  in- 
dependence and  moral  courage  of  a  high  order. 
He  has  placed  himself  in  a  position  where  the 
unthinking  will  liken  him  unto  the  serpent  thait 
buried  its  fangs  in  the  bosom  that  warmed  it. 
None  the  less,  his  act  is  one  of  marked  heroism. 
While  not  endorsing  his  third  party  scheme  (our 
party  is  good  enough)  we  endorse  the  spirit  of  initia- 
tive and  independence  that  prompts  it.  We  would 
that  this  spirit  of  rebellion  against  party  slavery 
characterized  all  the  voters  of  the  Southland. 

"  It  is  an  open  secret  that  the  great  body  of  the 
people  of  both  races  in  the  South  are  prone  to  re- 
gard elections  as  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  per- 
ennial struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  two 
races.  This  one  issue  has  been  allowed  to  dwarf 
all  other  considerations.  Indeed,  the  South  is  deaf 
to  all  appeals,  however  urgent,  to  give  considera- 


98  UNFETTERED. 

tion  to  the  grave  questions  arising  from  time  to 
time  affecting  the  welfare  of  us  all  and  determining 
our  destiny.  Such  a  condition  of  isolation  from  the 
centers  of  thought  activity  is  deplorable  in  the  ex- 
treme. 

"  Think  of  it :  by  birth  a  man  comes  into  posses- 
sion of  a  full  set  of  political  opinions.  He  is  born 
into  a  condition  of  intellectual  serfdom  ;  the  mind 
dares  hot  to  wander  by  a  hair's  breadth  from  the 
narrow  estate  of  thought  on  which  it  is  born.  He 
who  elects  to  devote  his  attention  to  the  questions 
of  State  must  reduce  his  mentality  to  the  level  of 
the  parrot  and  feel  that  his  life's  work  will  consist 
in  learning  to  repeat  glibly  and  without  alteration 
whatever  party  managers  may  promulgate.  What 
a  crime  against  the  human  mind  whose  native  air 
is  freedom,  to  secure  which  bonfires  have  been 
lighted  with  the  thrones  of  kings ! 

"What  the  South  needs  is  a  new  emancipation. 
Her  giant  minds  must  be  allowed  to  enter  the 
arena  of  intellectual  conflict  unfettered,  if  they  are 
to  bring  back  to  the  South  her  departed  glory. 
The  Negroes  can  help  to  bring  about  this  emanci- 
pation. When  they  cease  to  vote  en  masse ;  when 
they  cease  going  to  the  polls  as  a  mark  of  gratitude 
to  the  invaders  of  the  South  who  now  sleep  their 
last  sleep  and  would  discountenance,  if  they  could, 
the  perpetuation  of  race  hatred  over  past  issues ; 
\vhen  the  sentiment  within  the  Negro  race  is  suffr- 


UNFETTERED.  99 

ciently  liberal  to  allow  each  Negro  his  manhood 
right  to  record  with  his  vote  his  own  best  judg- 
ment ;  when,  we  say,  these  desirable  conditions  ob- 
tain among  the  Negroes,  we  whites  will  have  an 
opportunity  to  escape  the  scourge  with  which  the 
party  magnates  herd  us  together  even  as  gratitude 
has  herded  the  Negroes. 

"  With  joy  we  hail  the  advent  of  Dorian  War- 
thell  in  his  new  role.  May  he  succeed  in  inaugu- 
rating an  era  of  independent  thought  among  the 
Negroes.  Let  us  all  hope  that  we  are  now  behold- 
ing a  streak  of  dawn,  instead  of  the  trail  of  a  fall- 
ing star,  whose  soon  fading  light  will  leave  our 
skies  but  the  darker.  Let  us  hope  that  the  hour  is 
upon  us  when  the  sober  torch  of  reason  and  not  the 
withering  flames  of  passion,  may  guide  all  of  our 
voters,  white  and  colored,  to  the  polls. " 

There  are  many  people  in  the  South  who  never 
read,  who  never  ponder  grave  questions,  but  assume 
the  right  to  wreak  vengeance  on  the  heads  of  those 
who  perchance  wander  from  beaten  paths  in  search 
of  truth.  In  the  above  editorial  the  more  enlighk 
ened  element  had  spoken  ;  but  the  unthinking  were 
also  to  be  heard  from. 

If  Dorian  is  depending  upon  his  exalted  patriot- 
ism, his  broad  love  of  humanity,  his  eager,  unself- 
ish striving  after  the  good  of  all — if,  we  say,  he  is 
depending  upon  these  things  to  shield  him  from  the 


100  UNFETTERED. 

wrath  of  those  whom  his  act  affronted,  let  him  re- 
member that  virtue  was  no  shield  to  Him  whose 
blood,  in  the  days  of  yore,  ancinted  the  spear  of  a 
Roman  soldier  upon  a  hillside  on  the  outskirts  of 
Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
BLOODWORTH  AT  WORK. 

The  Hon.  Hezekiah  T.  Bloodworth  had  re« 
ttkjned  to  his  home  from  his  interview  with  Dor« 
Ian  chagrined,  dejected,  sorely  puzzled  as  to  what 
to  do  next. 

It  was  being  declared  on  all  sides  that  the  day 
of  isolation  was  over  with  the  United  States,  and 
that  it  was  henceforth  to  be  a  world  power.  In« 
stead  of  simply  directing  the  affairs  of  the  nation, 
her  statesmen  would  now  be  called  upon  to  assist 
in  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  peoples  of  the 
whole  earth. 

Bloodworth  had  been  cherishing  the  fond  hope 
that  he  would  be  one  of  the  first  of  American 
statesmen  that  would  leap  into  world  prominence. 
His  bosom  heaved  as  he  thought  of  the  day  when 
his  speeches  would  be  read  by  the  inhabitants  of 
all  lands  and  his  name  would  be  a  household  word 
unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  He  had  un- 
limited faith  in  Dorian's  ability  and  felt  that  Dor- 
Ian  could  rise  equal  to  the  emergency  and  furnish 
him  the  brain  power  for  his  widened  responsibil- 
ities. At  the  very  moment  when  he  felt  the 
need  of  Dorian  the  keenest  in  all  his  life,  Dorian 

refuses  to  be  his  mentor. 

(101) 


Bloodworth  wept.  His  tears  were  not  Alexan- 
drian tears  of  regret  that  there  were  no  more 
worlds  to  conquer,  but  Bloodworthian  tears  shed 
because  he  could  neither  borrow  nor  buy  the 
brains  necessary  to  conquer  a  world  that  had  come 
within  his  reach. 

"Hezzy,  dear,  what  on  earth  troubles  you?" 
asked  Mrs.  Bloodworth  of  her  perturbed  husband. 

"My  ancestors,  confound  them,"  roughly  re- 
sponded Bloodworth. 

"He  is  going  crazy,"  thought  Mrs.  Bloodworth. 
"How  do  your  ancestors  trouble  you,  Hezzy  ? " 
further  queried  Mrs.  Bloodworth. 

"They  have  handed  down  to  me  no  brains," 
roared  Bloodworth. 

"There,  I  thought  it  was  brain  trouble,"  thought 
Mrs.  Bloodworth. 

"Oh,  dear,  you  have  brains,"  said  his  wife. 

"So  has  a  rabbit.     L,et  me  alone,  now." 

This  colloquy  had  taken  place  at  the  dinner 
table  where  Bloodworth  was  voraciously  devouring 
food,  in  an  effort,  it  would  appear,  to  be  strong  ab- 
dominally if  not  intellectually.  His  grief  over  his 
plight  had  not  yet  affected  his  appetite.  When 
nearly  through  the  meal  a  telegram  was  handed 
him.  It  was  from  the  Speakers'  Bureau  and  read 
thus: 
"Hon.  Hezekiah  T.  Bloodworth: 

"Your  services  are  badly  needed  in  the  pivotal  States. 
Campaign  a  flat  failure  without  your  lucid  speeches.  Delay 
no  longer.  Report  at  headquarters  at  once.  The  after- 
math." 


frNFETTERED.  103 

Blood  worth  had  been  given  the  assurance  of  a 
Cabinet  portfolio  in  case  his  party  succeeded. 
The  words,  "The  aftermath,"  in  the  telegram  were 
intended  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  his  pre- 
ferment was  contingent  upon  his  campaign  labors. 
He  arose  from  the  table  in  such  an  abrupt  manner 
that  he  upset  it,  much  to  the  horror  of  Mrs.  Blood- 
worth. 

uDo  you  wish  to  send  a  return  message?" 
asked  the  messenger  boy. 

"Tell  the  Speakers'  Bureau  and  the  pivotal 
States  to  go  to  the  habitation  of  the  accursed,"  ex- 
claimed Bloodworth,  trudging  about  the  floor, 
holding  the  open  telegram  in  both  hands  as 
though  it  was  a  heavy  load.  r,,  - 

The  messenger  boy  backed  out  of  the  room  and 
hurried  away,  glad  to  get  out  of  the  presence  of 
the  enraged  Bloodworth. 

"Confound  it;  I  will  not  be  ruined  thus"  said 
Bloodworth.  Grasping  his  hat  he  hurried  out 
of  his  house  to  the  market.  He  soon  returned 
and,  thrusting  a  package  down  on  a  table  in 
his  kitchen,  said,  "Cook,  feed  me  on  fish  at 
every  meal.  Get  the  very  best  fish.  Here  are  some 
good  ones.  Begin  at  supper  time.  Fish  is  good 
for  brain  food,  they  say,  and  I  need  brains !" 

Bloodworth  dieted  himself  on  fish  for  a  few 
days  and  then  began  the  preparation  of  the  speech 


104  UNFETTERED. 

with  which  he  was  to  open  his  campaign  tour  in 
the  pivotal  states.  After  great  labor  the  speech 
was  at  last  finished,  and  Congressman  Bloodworth 
invited  a  few  intimate  friends  to  hear  him  deliver 
it  to  them  in  private. 

"Friends,"  said  he  to  the  select  audience,  uof 
late  my  mind  (meaning  Dorian  Warthell)  has 
been  a  little  erratic.  It  will  not  serve  me  as  it 
once  did.  I  have  called  you  here  to  ask  you  to 
tell  me  whether  much  of  its  vigor  has  departed. 
If  there  is  too  great  a  gap  between  my  past 
efforts  and  my  present  one,  I  shall  retire  from 
public  life.  Remember,  gentlemen,  how  much  de- 
pends on  your  decision,  and  be  frank  with  me." 
Congressman  Bloodworth  then  began  his  speech. 
With  great  effort  his  hearers  refrained  from 
laughter  as  they  listened  to  what  they  thought 
was  the  most  bunglesome  address  that  ever  came 
from  the  lips  of  a  public  servant  in  a  civilized 
land. 

"Mr.  Bloodworth,  for  Heaven's  sake,  do  not 
take  the  stump  in  this  campaign.  You  will  be 
the  butt  of  ridicule  of  the  entire  nation."  Such 
was  the  verdict  rendered  by  one  and  acquiesced  in 
by  the  others  after  listening  to  the  speech. 

Bloodworth  now  completely  collapsed.  "Gentle- 
men," he  said  between  his  sobs,  "take  me  to  my 
room.  I  am  ill.  I  knew  that  a  breakdown  was 
due  to  a  man  who  has  worked  as  hard  for  his 


UNFETTERED.  105 

country  as  I  have.  Take  me  to  my  room,  gentle- 
men." 

Bloodworth  was  borne  to  his  room  and  put  to 
bed.  He  then  dictated  a  telegram  to  the  Speak- 
ers' Bureau,  informing  them  of  his  illness  and  con- 
sequent inability  to  participate  in  the  campaign. 

The  Hon.  HezekiahT.  Bloodworth  was  removed 
to  the  city  of  R .  to  a  private  sanitarium  in  or- 
der, he  said,  that  he  might  receive  the  best  medical 
attention.  Each  day  he  would  lay  abed  feigning 
that  he  was  sick.  The  doctors  were  unable  to  tell 
what  was  troubling  their  patient,  but  were  quite 
content  to  have  him  remain  with  them,  so  hand* 
somely  were  they  being  paid.  Bulletins  as  to  the 
state  of  his  health  were  sent  over  the  country 
daily. 

Bloodworth  succeeded  in  bribing  his  night 
nurses.  With  their  collusion  he  was  able  to  es- 
cape from  the  sanitarium  each  night,  returning 
just  before  daybreak  in  the  morning.  These 
nights  were  spent  by  him  in  the  lowest  parts  of 
the  city,  in  gambling  dens  patronized  by  the  Ne- 
groes. He  had  become  aware  of  the  great  up- 
heaval among  the  Negroes  against  Dorian  and  he 
had  decided  that  the  time  was  auspicious  for  the 
murder.  His  midnight  orgies  enabled  him  to  se- 
cure tools  for  his  work. 


CHAPTRE  XV. 

HARRY  BECOMES  A  TOOI,. 

The  excitement  among  the  Negroes  was  so  very 
great  that  Dorian  decided  that  something  ought  to 
be  done  to  allay  it,  to  the  end  that  the  convention 
which  he  had  called  might  find  a  more  congenial 
atmosphere.  He  issued  a  call  for  a  public  mass 
meeting,  hoping  at  that  meeting  to  put  himself  in  a 
better  light  before  the  people. 

Congressman  Bloodworth  heard  of  this  proposed 
mass  meeting  and  chose  it  as  the  occasion  on  which 
to  put  an  end  to  Dorian's  life.  In  his  rounds  by  night 
he  had  heard  how  that  Harry  Dalton,  a  ward  chair- 
man of  the  Republican  party,  was  extremely  bitter 
in  his  feelings  toward  Dorian.  One  night  he  called 
at  Harry's  residence.  Morlene  met  him  at  the  door 
and  his  countenance  fell.  He  had  not  expected  to 
find  such  intelligence  as  Morlene's  face  indicated 
in  a  home  where  dwelled  a  man  as  rancorous  as 
Harry  had  been  represented  to  be.  Morlene  invited 
him  in.  When  he  saw  Harry  his  spirits  rose.  His 
first  glance  impressed  him  that  Harry  could  be  used 
as  a  tool. 

Morlene  intuitively  read  sinister  purposes  in 
Bloodworth's  face.  He  avoided  her  searching  gaze 
as  much  as  possible. 

(106) 


±07 

"  May  I  have  a  private  interview  with  you  ?" 
asked  Bloodworth  of  Harry. 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  said  Harry,  rising  and 
leading  the  way  to  an  adjoining  room,  closing  the 
door  behind  them.  They  took  seatsv  Bloodworth 
putting  his  chair  near  to  Harry. 

"  I  have  come  to  see  you  on  an  important  mat- 
ter," said  Bloodworth.  "  But  before  I  begin  I  have 
one  question  to  ask  you,"  he  continued.  Pausing, 
and  looking  directly  into  Harry's  eyes,  he  asked, 
"Are  you  a  Republican  ?" 

An  angry  flush  passed  over  Harry's  face.  "  Y©u 
insult  me,  sir,  to  come  into  my  house  to  ask  me  if 
I  am  a  Republican.  I  was  born  a  Republican  and 
will  die  one." 

"  Don't  talk  so  loud,"  said  Bloodworth,  glancing 
uneasily  toward  the  door,  where  he  thought  Mor- 
lene  might  be  listening. 

"  Well,  you  must  not  insult  me,  sir.  My  color 
ought  to  tell  you  what  I  am." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Bloodworth,  in  a  sad  tone. 
"  There  was  a  time  when  all  colored  men  were  true 
blue  Republicans,  but  that  day  is  past.  A  man 
right  here  in  your  ward  has  gone  astray." 

"  Don't  you  compare  me  with  that  infernal  scoun- 
drel, Dorian  Warthell.  He  claims  to  be  an  edu- 
cated man,  and  has  deserted  the  Republican  party. 
I  could  tear  his  liver  out  and  show  it  to  him,  that  I 
could."  / 


108  UNFETTERED. 

"I  have  come  to  talk  to  you  about  him." 

"  If  you  have  got  any  good  to  say  of  him,  it's  no 
use  for  you  to  begin.  But  if  you  can  tell  of  any 
way  to  get  rid  of  the  scoundrel,  I  am  with  you." 

"  L,et  me  tell  you  my  history,"  said  Blood  worth. 

Blood  worth  now  assumed  a  piteous  tone  and  be- 
gan :  "  I  am  a  Southern  man.  Before  the  war  my 
father  was  rich,  but  would  never  own  a  slave,  though 
he  lived  right  in  the  South. 

( *  When  the  war  broke  out,  we  turned  our  back 
on  the  South  and  joined  the  Union  Army.  That 
is,  my  two  brothers  did.  I  stayed  at  home  to  care 
for  my  aged  parents. 

"  When  the  war  was  over,  the  Negroes  needed 
leaders.  I  decided  to  lead  them.  This  made  all  of 
the  Southern  white  people  mad  at  me,  and  they 
called  me  a  scalawag.  But  I  led  them  just  the  same, 
and  held  office  so  that  the  Negroes  could  say  that  a 
Republican  was  in  office.  I  wanted  to  go  higher. 
I  found  a  colored  boy  who  was  poor  but  brainy.  I 
gave  him  all  the  money  I  made  from  politics  in  re- 
turn for  his  help  to  me.  He  worked  along  with 
me  until  he  had  gotten  thousands  of  dollars.  Then 
he  left  me.  He  left  me  just  when  the  Republican 
party  needed  him  most."  Here  Bloodworth  man- 
aged to  slip  an  onion  near  his  eyes  and  tears  ap- 
peared. 

Harry  was  deeply  moved  at  this  show  of  emo- 
tion. He  groaned  audibly  over  the  perfidy  of  the 
Negro  who  deserted  so  true  a  Republican. 


UNFETTERED.  109 

"Yes,  Harry,"  sobbed  Bloodworth,  "he  deserted 
the  party  of  Lincoln,  the  party  that  made  his  peo- 
ple free,  the  party  that  made  it  possible  for  you  all 
to  be  what  you  are.  He  deserted  me,  his  true  and 
tried  friend.  He  deserted  his  own  race.  Dorian 
Warthell  is  that  man." 

Harry  was  now  moved  to  tears — tears  of  sympa- 
thy, tears  of  shame  over  the  nefarious  deed  of  a 
colored  man,  tears  of  rage. 

"I  am  a  Christian,"  said  Harry.  " I  am  a  dea- 
con of  a  church.  But  I  swear  by  high  heaven  that 
no  such  scoundrel  shall  be  allowed  to  live  !  I  shall 
kill  him ! " 

" Nobly  spoken!  Nobly  spoken!"  said  Blood- 
worth,  grasping  Harry's  hand  warmly.  "I  am 
proud  that  I — that  is,  that  my  brothers  shed  their 
blood  to  give  freedom  to  such  noble  men  as  you.  I 
am  not  afraid  for  the  future  of  your  race  while  such 
men  as  you  are  living." 

Harry  was  grateful  to  the  center  of  his  heart  for 
this  tribute  to  his  worth.  "  May  I  ever  prove  wor- 
thy of  your  kind  words,"  said  Harry. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  that.  The  man  who  takes 
Dorian  Warthell  out  of  the  way  will  do  enough 
good  to  make  up  for  any  shortcomings  that  he 
might  have.  I  have  a  well  arranged  plan  for  his 
murder  and  was  only  looking  for  a  man  worthy 
of  the  role  of  principal  actor.  Lo,  I  have  found 
him!" 


110  UNFETTERED. 

Bloodworth  now  unfolded  the  details  of  his  plot 
to  Harry,  and  explained  to  him  the  part  that  the 
latter  was  to  take  in  the  killing. 

Morlene,  who  had  listened  at  the  keyhole,  had 
heard  in  great  agony  the  plottings  against  the  life 
of  Dorian  Warthell.  She  had  no  qualms  of  con- 
science about  listening,  for,  having  seen  crime 
stamped  on  Bloodworth's  face,  she  had  employed 
the  usual  method  of  entrapping  criminals — spy- 
ing. 

Bloodworth  and  Harry  were  fully  determined 
upon  Dorian's  murder.  Morlene  determined  to 
save  his  life,  even  if  in  so  doing  she  lost  her  own. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  WOMAN  AROUSED. 

Morlene  fully  realized  the  gravity  as  well  as  the 
delicacy  of  the  situation  that  confronted  her.  A 
murder  was  being  planned,  the  intended  victim 
being  an  innocent  man  and  one  for  whom  she  en- 
tertained the  greatest  possible  respect;  while  the 
man  chosen  to  strike  the  fatal  blow  was  none 
other  than  her  own  husband.  Her  first  impulse 
was  to  confront  Harry,  but  sober  second  thought 
caused  her  to  abandon  this  purpose,  for  she  re- 
membered that  Harry  was  headstrong;  that  he 
never  abandoned  anything  that  he  had  firmly  re- 
solved upon  doing.  She  saw  that  confronting 
Harry  would  only  have  the  effect  of  causing  him 
to  lay  his  plans  the  deeper  and  perhaps  so  far  away 
that  she  could  not  by  any  means  intercept  them. 

Morlene  began  to  consider  the  advisability  of 
putting  in  motion  a  counter  current  of  sentiment 
in  favor  of  granting  the  individual  citizen  the 
right  of  independent  action,  hoping  to  create  such 
a  broad  spirit  of  tolerance  that  the  party  or  parties 
who  were  to  use  Harry  as  a  tool  would  be  afraid 
to  carry  out  their  programme  of  murder. 

While  Harry  and  Morlene  were  sitting  at  the 
breakfast  table  one  morning,  she  said  to  him, 

(ill) 


112  UNFETTERED. 

"Harry,  I  have  come  across  a  very  good  campaign 
book  and  would  like  to  act  as  agent  for  it  during 
the  next  few  days.  Do  you  object  ?  " 

Without  looking  up  Harry  replied,  "Of  course, 
not,"  and  continued  in  meditation  of  what  he  re- 
garded as  Dorian's  traitorous  crime.  Every  now 
and  then  he  would  lay  down  his  knife  and  fork 
and  rest  his  hands  on  the  table,  his  eyes  down- 
cast, so  thoroughly  was  he  aroused  over  Dorian's 
presumption  in  claiming  the  right  to  find  fault 
with  the  Republican  party. 

When  Harry  had  gone  to  his  work,  Morlene  took 
her  canvassing  outfit  and  began  her  labors.  She 
chose  with  much  deliberation  the  parties  to  whom 
she  went  to  sell  the  book.  Her  first  task  upon  meet- 
ing the  party  was  to  set  forth  the  claims  of  the  book. 
She  never  failed  in  effecting  a  sale,  for  the  parties 
accosted  were  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  the  book 
for  the  privilege  of  being  brought  into  contact  with 
a  woman  of  such  remarkable  beauty.  They  could 
hardly  listen  to  her  recital  of  the  claims  of  the 
book  for  stealing  glances  at  her  well  shaped,  queen- 
ly poised  head,  her  pleading,  thrilling  eyes,  her 
beautiful  face,  her  perfect  form.  They  sought  by 
prolonging  the  conversation  to  detain  her  in  their 
presence  as  long  as  possible. 

When  through  talking  of  her  book,  Morlene  in- 
variably brought  up  the  "Warrhell  movement"  in 
qrder  that  she  might  discover  the  temper  of 


UNFETTERED.  113 

people  and  find  out  just  how  much  hope  there  was 
of  arousing  public  interest  in  the  matter  of  secur- 
ing Dorian's  immunity  from  attack  because  he 
had  essayed  to  pursue  an  independent  course. 

A  very  eminent  lawyer,  the  real  head  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  the  State,  expressed  himself 
thus  to  Morlene: 

"To  be  frank  with  you,  Mrs.  Dalton,  the  fact 
that  the  "Warthell  movement"  might  in  the  end 
break  the  solidarity  of  the  Negro  vote  and  cause  a 
fraction  of  that  vote  to  eventually  drift  to  us,  has 
no  charms  for  the  Democratic  party.  For  several 
reasons  we  do  not  desire,  at  present,  a  contingent 
of  Negro  voters.  First  of  all,  the  coming  of  the 
Negro  into  our  ranks  will  cause  our  party  to  dis- 
integrate, many  men  now  being  held  in  it  because 
they  there  escape  contact  with  the  Negro.  In  the 
second  place,  the  Anglo-Saxon  habit  of  thought 
and  the  Negro  habit  of  thought  are  so  essentially 
different  that  we  prefer  their  separation." 

"Please  explain  yourself,"  requested  Morlene. 

"Certainly,"  said  the  lawyer,  not  at  all  weary  of 
the  pleasure  of  looking  at  and  talking  to  the 
beauty.  "Let  me  cite  you  to  a  Bible  incident,"  he 
resumed. 

"When  Peter,  in  preaching  to  the  Jews,  set  forth 
that  God  had  raised  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead, 
and  had  bestowed  upon  Him  greater  power  and 
glory  than  Ete  had  before  possessed,  the  assertion 


114  UNFETTERED. 

proved  to  be  a  befitting  climax  to  a  sermon  which 
resulted  in  the  conversion  of  some  three  thousand 
persons.  Paul,  in  closing  a  sermon  to  the  Greeks 
at  Athens,  alluded  to  this  same  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  Instead  of  proving  to  be  the  effective  cli- 
max that  it  was  when  Peter  was  preaching  to  the 
Jews,  it  operated  as  the  weakest  point  in  the  dis- 
course, for  we  are  told  that  at  that  point,  'some 
mocked,'  and  the  assemblage  postponed  the  hear- 
ing. Paul  in  summing  up  the  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  the  Greek  habit  of  thought,  remarked 
that  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek 
after  wisdom.  You  note  that  the  very  thing  that 
appealed  most  strongly  to  the  mind  of  the  Jew — 
the  miraculous  raising  of  the  Jesus — was  the  most 
repellant  to  the  Greek,  who,  in  his  search  for  wis- 
dom, demanded  to  know  the  how  of  every  asser- 
tion. 

"Returning  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  Negro — 
I  think  I  can  name  a  number  of  differences  in  their 
mental  attitudes: 

u  i.  The  Negro's  talent  is  largely  acquisitive; 
that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  inquisitive. 

"2.  The  Negro  is  of  a  restful  temperament;  the 
Anglo-Saxon  is  characterized  by  a  'restless  discon- 
tented, striving,  burning  energy.'  As  a  result  the 
Negro  is  painfully  conservative,  while  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  daringly  progressive. 

"3.  The  Negro  deals  with  the  immediate ;  the 
Anglo-Saxon  has  a  keen  eye  for  the  remote. 


UNFETTERED.  115 

"4.  The  Negro  is  prone  to  accept  statements  that 
lay  claim  to  being  postulates  ;  the  Anglo-Saxon  is 
skeptical,  examining  into  the  foundation  of  things. 

"5.  The  Negro  is  impulsive,  and  is  led  to  act 
largely  by  an  immediately  exciting  stimulus,  caus- 
ing the  net  results  of  his  labors  to  appear  as  a  se- 
ries of  fits  and  jerks ;  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  deliber- 
ate, cautious  without  stagnation,  wary  and  persist- 
ent, and  his  history  reveals  an  unbroken  tendency 
in  a  given  direction. 

"6.  Hitherto  the  preponderating  tendency  of  the 
Negro  has  been  toward  disintegration,  showing  the 
lack  of  a  proper  measure  of  fellow-feeling  ;  the  tend- 
ency of  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  toward  racial  integration. 

"7.  The  Negro  proceeds  by  analogies ;  the  Angta 
Saxon  by  logic. 

1  '8.  The  Anglo-Saxon  is  fond  of  serious  discus- 
sion and  you  reach  him  best  through  the  sublime  ; 
the  Negro  is  inordinately  fond  of  joking  and  you 
get  closest  to  him  through  the  ludicrous.  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say  that  these  are  hard  and  fast  lines, 
separating  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Negro  minds  into 
distinct  classes,  but  they  indicate  a  general  unlike- 
ness  in  many  particulars. 

"Now,  we  Democrats  know  how  to  reach  Angles 
Saxon  minds  and  the  process  is  congenial  to  out 
general  habit  of  thought.  When  we  address  Ne-. 
groes,  we  really  have  to  readjust  our  faculties  of 
approach.  Public  speakers  find  that  various  sec- 


H6  UNFETTERED. 

tions  of  the  same  country  present  this  difference, 
even  when  all  of  the  people  are  of  the  same  race. 
How  much  greater  must  be  the  chasm  between  two 
such  widely  diverging-  races." 

Morlene  exhibited  no  signs  of  abating  interest, 
so  the  lawyer  proceeded  further  with  his  remarks. 

uTwo  other  reasons  may  be  given  why  we  pre- 
fer to  be  rid  of  the  Negro,"  he  continued.  "The 
mass  of  Negroes  are  poor,  some  of  them  very  poor, 
and  we  have  men  among  us  who  would  not  scruple 
at  perpetually  bribing  these  poor  by  little  acts  of 
kindness.  A  poverty  stricken,  oppressed,  helpless 
people  are  comparatively  easy  prey  for  the  well  to 
do  element  of  an  opposite  race.  In  national  poli- 
tics the  Negro's  devotion  to  the  Republican 
party  exempts  him  from  the  chicanery  of  de- 
signing whites  who  would  debauch  the  suffrage. 
We  do  not  desire  the  ignorant  Negro  vote  in  mu- 
nicipal affairs  for  the  same  reason  that  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  oppose  the  dismenibernent  of 
Turkey.  The  struggle  for  possession  would  be 
too  fierce  and  demoralizing  among  the  parties  de- 
siring the  furtherance  of  their  interests.  The 
other  reason  for  not  wanting  the  Negro  vote  is 
that  the  respective  traditions  of  the  two  races  are 
so  essentially  different. 

"  You  see  they  (the  Negroes)  revere  Lincoln,  Sum- 
ner,  Whittier,  Lovejoy,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,Fred- 
Douglass,  Grant,  John  3rown,  etc,     ^\Ve  have 


UNFETTERED.  117 

no  peculiar  fondness  for  these  characters.  Jefferson 
Davis,  R.  B.  L,ee,  Stonewall  Jackson,  Pickett, 
Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  etc.,  are  the  objects  of  our 
love  and  enthusiasm.  You  see,  it  is  quite  natural 
that  people  having  such  widely  differing  sentiments 
should  in  a  measure  live  apart." 

Morlene  saw  clearly  that  there  was  no  hope 
of  arousing  in  this  man  enthusiasm  over  Dorian's 
work  of  altering  the  existing  status  in  matters 
political.  She  now  departed,  the  lines  of  sadness 
deepening  on  her  face.  The  lawyer  followed  her 
to  the  door,  bade  her  a  polite  adieu  and  turned 
away,  somehow  full  of  the  thought  that  he  had 
conversed  with  a  superior  creature. 

Morlene  next  went  to  the  head  of  the  Democratic 
"machine."  He  was  the  man  chosen  to  do  the 
work  of  "  counting  out"  the  opposition  if  the  occa- 
sion seemed  to  require  it.  He  readily  purchased  a 
book,  and,  when  called  upon,  expressed  his  opinion 
as  to  the  "  Warthell  movement." 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  we  do  not  want  that  fellow 
to  succeed.  We  hold  our  people  in  line  by  threat- 
ening them  with  the  bludgeon  of  mass  voting  and 
Negro  domination.  The  white  people  let  us  ma- 
chine fellows  have  our  own  way  and  will  scarce- 
ly fight  us  under  any  consideration  for  fear  that  in 
destroying  the  evil  that  we  may  represent,  they 
might  fall  upon  another  that  is  worse,  namely, 
"  nigger  rule,"  as  they  call  it.  Of  course,  then,  we 


Il8  UNFETTERED. 

machine  fellows  don't  want  any  such  times  as  that 
fellow  is  trying  to  inaugurate." 

Morlene  found  the  white  Republican  machine 
equally  antagonistic  to  Dorian.  They  feared  that 
the  abandonment  of  the  Republican  party  by  the 
great  mass  of  Negroes  of  the  South  would  cause  a 
great  influx  of  Southern  whites,  which  would  mean 
that  the  day  of  the  small  man  was  over  ;  for  many 
of  the  white  men  who  were  giants  among  the  Ne- 
groes, simply  because  of  their  white  faces  and  pro- 
fessed sympathy,  would  appear  to  be  only  pigmies 
when  brought  into  contact  with  the  abler  sections 
of  the  whites. 

The  Negro  politicians  of  the  smaller  calibre  that 
affiliated  with  the  machine  viewed  Dorian's  actions 
with  contempt.  Their  interest  in  political  cam- 
paigns ended  with  ward  meetings,  county/  district, 
State  and  national  conventions.  Whatever  profit 
a  campaign  was  to  bring  to  them  personally,  they 
labored  to  secure  while  conventions  were  being 
held,  for  they  knew  that  they  would  be  no  more 
an  important  factor  until  the  time  arrived  for 
another  series  of  conventions.  Not  seeing  where 
Dorian  was  to  profit  personally  by  his  course,  they 
took  him  to  be  an  enthusiastic  crank  of  some  sort. 
uHow  much  is  there  in  it,"  was  the  shibboleth  of 
their  creed,  learned  in  the  school  of  "  peanut"  pol- 
itics where  they  operated. 

Morlene  found  many  intelligent  white  and  col- 
ored men  who  held  views  directly  opposite  to  those 


UNFETTERED. 

cited,  but  they  almost  invariably  wound  up  by 
saying,  "But  Warthell,  it  turns  out,  is  ahead  of  his 
day.  Conditions  in  the  South  are  such  that  good 
men  of  both  races  are  better  off  out  of  politics." 
They  were  averse  to  taking  any  active  part  in  the 
matter,  fearing  that,  in  view  of  the  inflamed  state 
of  the  public  mind,  other  interests  of  theirs  might 
be  jeopardized. 

Finding  that  all  hope  of  enlisting  public  senti- 
raent  in  Dorian's  favor  had  to  be  abandoned,  Mor- 
lene, with  a  heavy  burden  on  her  heart,  now  turned 
in  the  direction  of  police  headquarters.  The  chief 
was  out,  but  a  subordinate  presented  himself  and 
desired  to  know  her  business. 

"  Sir,"  said  she,  "  there  is  a  plan  on  foot  to  as- 
sassinate Dorian  Warthell,  a  highly  respected  Ne- 
gro of  this  city." 

An  angry  look  came  into  the  face  of  the  police- 
man. Morlene  felt  encouraged  by  this,  hoping 
that  she  was  at  last  in  a  place  where  Dorian  had  a 
friend.  She  now  gave  the  officer  the  plans  of  the 
conspirators  as  she  had  overheard  them,  taking 
pains  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  Harry,  her  hus- 
band, was  but  a  weakling  in  the  hands  of  the  chief 
conspirator,  and  that  she  desired  that  he  be 
wrested  from  his  grasp. 

The  officer  took  a  memorandum  of  what  Mor- 
lene had  said.  When  Morlene  had  gotten  some 
distance  away  she  recollected  something  that  she 


I2O  UNFETTERED. 

deemed  it  advisable  to  tell.  She  retraced  her  steps 
to  headquarters,  and,  as  she  drew  near  the  office 
door,  heard  WarthelPs  name  called  by  the  offi- 
cer with  whom  she  had  conferred.  Her  heart 
seemed  to  cease  to  beat  as  she  heard  this  officer 
say;  "  Yes,  I  hope  they  will  kill  the  scoundrel.  I 
believe  in  every  man  being-  true  to  his  race.  I  call 
a  Negro  who  will  work  against  the  Republicans 
lower  than  the  dogs.  I  call  a  Southern  white  man 
who  will  work  against  the  Democrats  as  even 
lower  still.  Yes,  I  hope  they  will  kill  the  scoundrel. 
Let  every  man  stay  with  his  own  race,  by  gosh." 

Morlene  turned  away  trembling  in  every  fibre. 
When  she  had  proceeded  some  distance  she  turned, 
and  pointing  her  finger  in  the  direction  of  the 
building  from  which  she  had  just  come,  said, 
"Ah  !  justice,  justice,  whither  art  thou  fled?  Red- 
handed  murder  now  sits  in  thy  temple  and  occupies 
thy  throne!  How  long  wilst  thou  withhold  thy 
presence  from  this  beautiful,  but  blighted  South- 
land ?"  Passers  by  did  not  know  what  to  make  of 
this  beautiful  woman  standing  with  outstretched 
hand,  a  look  of  sorrow  and  lofty  scorn  upon  her 
face. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

(  CLANDESTINELY,  YET  IN  HONOR. 

Returning  to  her  home,  Morlene  sent  the  follow- 
ing note  to  Dorian  : 

"  MR.  DORLAN  WARTHELL  : 

"DEAR  SIR — I  have  come  into  possession  of 
information  that  renders  an  interview  with  you  im- 
perative. For  reasons  that  are  entirely  satisfactory 
to  my  conscience,  I  desire  that  the  interview  b*e 
private.  I  assure  you  that  nothing  but  the  most 
desperate  circumstances  could  influence  me  to 
take  this  step.  Upon  the  peril  of  your  life  meet 
me  at  the  end  of  the  Broad  Street  car  line  promptly 
at  eight  o'clock. 

"  THE  ARDENT  EXPANSIONIST." 

A  few  minutes  before  the  appointed  hour,  Dorian 
was  at  the  place  designated.  A  thickly-veiled 
lady  stepped  off  of  the  eight  o'clock  car  and  her 
shapeliness  told  Dorian  that  it  was  Morlene.  The 
two  walked  onward  together  until  they  were  at 
such  a  distance  as  not  to  encounter  inquisitive 
passers-by. 

"  Mr.  Warthell,"  began  Morlene,  "  my  first  task 
is  to  impart  to  you  certain  information.  There  ex- 
ists a  conspiracy,  the  object  of  which  is  to  effect 
your  murder  at  the  mass  meeting  which  you  are  to 

hold." 

(121) 


122  UNFETTERED. 

"  Nothing  that  happens  in  the  South  any  longer 
excites  surprise  in  me,"  said  Dorian,  no  trace  of 
emotion  in  his  voice.  Not  a  muscle  of  his  noble 
face  twitched  at  the  news. 

Morlene  resumed  :  "I  have  further  to  say,  that 
the  state  of  the  public  mind  toward  you  is  such  as 
is  calculated  to  encourage  rather  than  to  destroy 
criminal  intentions  directed  against  you.  Enlight- 
ened or  unenlightened,  the  forces  in  favor  of  the 
existing  order  of  things  regard  you  as  a  disturbing 
factor  in  the  body  politic.  Your  position  is  pecu- 
liarly dangerous  in  that  the  weaker  minds  will 
grow  to  regard  your  murder  as  a  civic  duty." 

"  No  one  can  gainsay  the  elements  of  danger  in 
the  situation,"  said  Dorian. 

"  The  police,  I  fear,  will  not  furnish  you  the 
protection  that  you  need,"  remarked  Morlene. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  responded  Dorian. 

Morlene  now  threw  back  her  veil  and  turned  her 
anxious  eyes  full  on  Dorian.  "  Mr.  Warthell,"  she 
said,  "the  cool  manner  in  which  you  receive  the 
information  which  I  give,  indicates  that  you  are 
n6t  as  regardful  of  your  life  as  might  be  the  case." 

Dorian  replied  :  "  My  life  has  no  charms  for  me, 
per  se.  I  am  wedded  to  certain  purposes  for  which 
I  have  learned  to  live.  I  will  gladly  yield  my  life 
for  their  furtherance  at  any  time  that  result  can  be 
achieved.  If  the  ends  for  which  I  strive  are  found 
to  be  unattainable,  life  has  no  further  interest  for 


UNFETTERED.  133 

a  Mr.  Wart  hell,  the  world  needs  your  services," 
said  Morlene  in  earnest  tones. 

"  It  may  be  that  the  world  has  a  greater  need  for 
my  death.  I  am  enough  of  a  fatalist  to  believe 
that  whatever  the  world  needs  it  gets.  Note  how 
opportune  have  been  the  great  births  and  deaths  of 
history,"  replied  Dorian. 

"  Mr.  Warthell,  I  have  not  come  here  to  theorize 
on  the  comparative  value  of  life  and  death.  I 
have  come  to  save  your  life.  Have  you  any  rela- 
tives living?" 

"  None,"  said  Dorian. 

1 *  Oh,  that  there  was  a  mother  or  a  sister  to  make 
the  plea  that  I  must  make  !"  said  Morlene,  sorrow- 
fully. "  Wait,"  she  said,  as  though  a  new  idea  had 
struck  her.  "  Mr.  Warthell,  is  there  not  some- 
where in  the  world  a  noble  girl  whose  heart  you 
have  won  and  who  has  accepted  you  as  the  compan- 
ion by  whose  side  she  is  to  journey  through  life?" 

"My  life  has  not  been  altogether  without  love," 
said  Dorian,  a  trace  of  emotion  appearing  in  his 
voice.  "  But  it  was  a  boyish  love.  The  little  girl 
fell  asleep  in  her  twelfth  summer.  Were  she  alive 
to-night  there  might  be  something  to  chain  me  to 
life.  As  it  is  my  personal  life  is  barren  of  induce- 
ments and  I  am  free  to  offer  myself  upon  the  altar 
for  the  good  of  my  country." 

Morlene  dropped  upon  her  knees ;  tears  had  made 
their  appearance  in  her  eyes.  With  clasped  hands 
and  face  upraised  to  his,  she  said  :  "  Mr.  Warthell, 


124  UNFETTERED. 

I  beg  of  you,  spare  your  life.  Spare  me  the  horror 
of  knowing  that  you  were  foully  murdered.  You 
have  no  mother,  no  sister,  no  lover.  I  am  only  a 
stranger  to  you.  Argument  fails  me  and  I  can 
only  plead." 

Dorian  turned  away,  unable  to  look  into  that 
sweet,  sorrowful  face  and  say  it  nay.  "  It  is  best 
that  I  die,"  said  Dorian  to  himself.  "  If  I  lived  I 
could  not  escape  falling  in  love  with  this  divine 
being."  To  Morlene  he  remarked,  his  head  still 
averted,  "  Sweet  is  your  voice  and  earnest  your 
pleadings.  Think  it  not  ungallant  in  me  to  say 
that  the  stern  voice  of  duty  engrosses  my  ear  and 
I  obey  its  summons.  If  I  die  at  my  post  of  duty 
you  will  be  one  to  revere  my  memory." 

Morlene  arose  and  moved  around  so  as  to  be  face 
to  face  with  Dorian  who  was  seeking  to  avoid  her 
gaze.  "Answer  one  question  for  me,  Mr.  Warthell. 
Is  there  anything  connected  with  your  life  that 
causes  you  to  think  that  death  would  be  a 
personal  gain  to  you  as  well  as  a  gain  to  your 
country  ?  I  do  not  ask  out  of  curiosity,  you  must 
know.  It  behooves  me  to  know  all  the  factors  to 
be  reckoned  with  in  my  attempt  to  save  your  life." 

"  No  personal  considerations  would  induce  me  to 
seek  to  destroy  my  life.  Let  that  information  suf- 
fice," said  Dorian. 

The  very  suppression  manifest  in  Dorian's  reply 
and  tone  of  voice  revealed  to  Morlene  that  the  full 


UNFETTERED.  125 

answer  to  her  query  w?»s  "  Yes."  She  now  ceased 
her  pleading.  She  saw  that  the  labor  of  saving 
Dorian's  life  was  more  largely  upon  her  than  she 
had  at  first  supposed.  She  had  even  his  indiffer- 
ence to  life  to  combat.  Undaunted  by  this  fresh 
complication  she  girded  her  spirit  for  the  con- 
flict. 

In  silence  the  two  went  toward  the  place  where 
Morlene  was  to  board  the  car  to  return  to  her  home. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  parting,  Mor- 
lene said,  "  Remember,  I  say,  you  shall  not  die." 
Dorian  looked  at  her,  smiled  sadly,  turned  and 
walked  away. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WHO  WINS  ? 

The  night  of  the  mass  meeting  came  at  last,  and 
there  was  a  tremendous  outpouring  of  the  Negroes, 
recruited  mainly  from  the  ranks  of  the  toiling 
masses.  Scattered  here  and  there  in  the  audience 
were  a  few  of  the  educated  Negroes,  drawn  to  the 
meeting  to  see  how  Dorian  was  to  fare  in  his  at- 
tempt to  breast  the  current  of  Negro  loyalty  to 
the  Republican  party.  The  women  in  the  audi- 
ence outnumbered  the  men,  a  fact  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  when  it  is  known  that  the  Negro  women 
of  the  South  are,  perhaps,  the  most  ardent  and  un- 
yielding Republicans  in  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  Closely  veiled,  Morlene  sat 
in  the  audience,  the  embodiment  of  anxiety.  The 
moment  for  the  supreme  contest  between  herself 
on  the  one  hand  and  Bloodworth  and  Harry  on  the 
other,  for  the  life  of  Dorian,  was  drawing  fright- 
fully near. 

At  the  appointed  hour  Dorian  entered  the  build- 
ing from  the  rear  door,  walked  across  the  platform 
and  took  his  seat.  Somehow  the  world  expects 
the  body  of  a  man  to  give  some  indication  of  the 
soul  within,  wherefore  all  pictures  of  Satan  repre- 


UNFETTERED.  127 

sent  him  as  being  ugly.  Those  who  came  to  the 
meeting  hating  Dorian  felt  a  more  kindly  feeling 
creeping  into  their  consciousness  as  they  saw  that 
heaven  had  thought  kindly  enough  of  him  to  grant 
unto  him  the  form  of  a  prince,  an  intellectual 
brow,  a  truly  handsome  face  that  wore  a  look  of 
earnest,  honest  purpose. 

As  Dorian  scanned  the  audience  his  heart 
swelled  with  joy  at  its  immense  proportions. 
Wrong  though  they  sometimes  were,  Dorian  had 
the  most  profound  faith  in  the  good  intentions  of 
the  Negro  masses.  He  held  that  the  intentions  of 
no  people  on  earth  were  better,  and  that  the  sole 
need  of  the  Negroes  was  proper  light. 

Dorian's  analysis  of  the  situation  was  as  follows: 
The  feeling  encountered  was  largely  a  religious 
one.  The  Negroes  believed  unqualifiedly  in  the 
direct  interposition  of  God  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
They  believed  in  the  personality,  activity  and  in- 
sidiousness  of  the  Devil.  They  believed  that  God 
had  specifically  created  the  Republican .  party  to 
bring  about  their  emancipation.  On  the  other 
hand  they  regarded  the  Democratic  party  as  the 
earthly  abode  of  the  devil,  created  specifically  and 
solely  for  the  purpose  of  harassing  them.  Thus, 
whoever  opposed  the  Republican  party  was  sin- 
ning against  God;  and  whoever  voted  against  that 
party  was  in  league  with  the  devil. 

Such  were  the  views  held  by  the  less  enlight- 
ened, Dorian  felt.  In  order  to  meet  the  situation 


128  UNFETTERED. 

he  had  prepared  a  speech  that  traced  from  a  hu- 
man point  of  view  the  development  of  the  two 
parties.  Once  disabuse  their  minds  of  the  direct, 
specific  heavenly  origin  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  the  way  would  be  open  to  show,  that  as  men 
made  it,  men  could  improve  upon  its  policies.  So 
at  the  appointed  hour  he  arose  and  began  his 
speech.  It  riveted  the  attention  of  his  hearers, 
and  they  listened  with  eager  ears  to  Dorian's  re- 
cital of  the  workings  of  the  forces  and  counter 
forces  that  brought  about  their  emancipation. 
Freedom  had  burst  upon  them  so  suddenly,  was  so 
glorious  a  boon,  that  their  simple  minds  readily 
concluded  that  it  dropped  bodily,  as  it  were,  from 
the  skies.  They  were  now  glad  to  gain  a  clear 
understanding  of  that  phenomenal  happening. 
Their  feelings  of  resentment  died  away  entirely, 
and  they  who  came  to  jeer,  frequently  broke  forth 
into  applause. 

Dorian  closed  his  speech  with  a  thrilling  perora- 
tion, urging  the  Negroes  to  gird  themselves  for  the 
holy  task  of  carrying  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  the  doctrine  of  the  inherent,  inalienable 
equality  of  all  men. 

Morlene  could  scarcely  repress  tears  of  joy  over 
the  happy  turn  of  events.  But  her  joy  was  to  be 
short  lived. 

Bloodworth  had  employed  a  number  of  vicious- 
ly inclined  Negroes  to  put  out  the  lights,  bar  the 
doors  and  foment  excitement.  In  the  midst  of  the 


UNFETTERED.  129 

disturbance  Harry  was  to  effect  the  murder  of 
Dorian.  Bigoted  Harry  had  not  been  in  the  least 
affected,  nor  were  his  mercenary  compatriots  in 
any  wise  moved,  by  Dorian's  utterances.  When 
the  speech  was  finished,  at  a  given  signal  th<*  ligfcts 
were  extinguished  and  a  tumult  raised. 

Harry  had  closely  noted  the  position  of  Doi^an 
on  the  platform,  and  as  soon  as  the  lights  We're  glut 
began  to  make  his  way  toward  him.  As  th^re 
was  no  one  on  the  platform  but  Dorian,  lit  did  $ot 
fear  making  a  mistake  as  to  the  man  he  wa^to 
assault. 

Morlene  had  employed  a  young  man  of  strength 
and  courage  to  sit  by  and  keep  close  watch&fbn 
Harry  to  thwart  any  attempts  he  might  make. 
As  Harry  made  his  way  with  eager  cat-like  tre^d, 
he  was  followed  by  the  young  man  appointed  to 
watch  him.  When  near  Dorian,  Harry  drew  •  JJiis 
pistol  but  felt  it  wrenched  from  his  hand  by  s<$ne 
one  of  superior  strength.  Discovering  that  he  was 
followed,  Harry  turned  and  sought  to  mingle  with 
the  crowd  in  the  hope  of  eluding  his  pursuer.  In 
this  he  was  successful. 

Morlene,  thickly  veiled,  had  been  sitting  in  a 
corner  of  the  auditorium  throughout  the  meet- 
ing. In  a  satchel  she  had  brought  along  a  small 
lighted  lantern.  She  knew  the  building  well, 
and  even  in  the  midst  of  the  hubbub  and  ex- 
citement incident  to  the  putting  out  of  the 
lights,  had  made  her  way  to  the  platform  where- 


130  UNFETTERED. 

on  was  Dorian.  Now  handling  her  lantern  so 
that  it  guided  her  directly  to  Dorian,  without 
informing  others  of  her  movements,  she  crept  to 
his  side.  She  found  him  seated,  his  head  bent 
forward  resting  on  his  hand.  Even  now  his  first 
thought  was  of  the  future  of  the  race,  seeking  to 
keep  alive  in  his  bosom  to  the  moment  of  death, 
the,  hope  that  it  would  rise  in  spite  of  the  unthink- 
ing element  that  now,  sought  his  life. 

Morlene  whispered  into  his  ear,  "  Mr.  Warthell, 
do  not  die  here.  As  a  friend,  a  sincere  friend,  I 
jplead  with  you  to  .live  for  all  our  sakes."  The 
presence  of  Morlene  in  such  a  dangerous  situation 
thoroughly  aroused  Dorian.  He  sprang  to  his  feet 
determined  :to  live  until  she  was  out  of  danger,  at 
least.  "  Here  is  a  lantern,"  said  she,  handing  it  to 
him. 

•  "Keep  close  to  me,"  said  Dorian  to  Morlene. 
To  the  throng  he  said:  "  Gentlemen,  vacate  the 
aisle  to  the  extreme  right.  Whoever  obstructs 
that  piathway  to  the  door,  does  so  at  the  peril  of 
his  life.  I  have  given  fair  warning  and  hold  you  ac- 
countable for  whatever  results  from  your  failure  to 
obey."  His  voice  was  so  commanding  and  he  spoke 
'with  such  self-assurance,  that  the  movement  to 
clear  the  aisle  designated  began  at  once;  but  the 
words  had  scarcely  escaped  his  lips  when  he  was 
stabbed  from  the  rear.  Turning  upon  his  assail- 
ant, he  felled  him  to  the  floor  with  a  powerful 
blow.  Flashing  the  light  across  the  face  of  the 


UNFETTERED.  131 

fallen  man,  Dorian  and  Morlene  both  saw  that  it 
was  Harry. 

"My  duty  is  here,"  said  Morlene,  as  she  stooped 
and  took  Harry's  head  upon  her  lap. 

"Good-bye.  I  must  go.  I  am  wounded,"  said 
Dorian  to  Morlene,  as  he  started  for  the  door. 

Morlene  assured  herself  that  Harry  was  not 
seriously  kurt,  and  administered  restoratives  which 
she  had  been  thoughtful  enough  to  bring  along. 
She  was  the  while  experiencing  anxious  thoughts 
as  to  the  dangerousness  of  Dorian's  wound.  At 
the  earliest  possible  moment  Morlene  left  Harry, 
(who  was  now  reviving)  and  went  to  telephone  for 
the  ambulance.  It  came  and,  with  the  aid  of  lan- 
terns, following  a  trail  of  blood,  they  came  upon 
Dorian,  unconscious,  the  wondering  stars  peeping 
down  upon  his  upturned  face. 

****** 

Morlene  reached  home  on  that  eventful  night 
some  time  before  Harry.  After  his  murderous  as- 
sault on  Dorian,  having  recovered  from  the  stun- 
ning effects  of  the  blow  that  had  felled  him,  lie 
had  gone  from  saloon  to  saloon,  drinking  and  very 
hilarious  over  his  night's  work.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  he  reached  his  home  in  a  half- 
drunken  state.  Morlene  had  been  anxiously 
awaiting  his  coming. 

As  Harry  stepped  into  the  room,  one  glance  at 
Morlene's  face  had  the  effect  of  somewhat  sober- 
ing him.  Her  face,  her  eyes,  her  attitude  and, 


132  UNFETTERED. 

when  she  spoke,  her  voice,  conveyed  to  the  half- 
drunken  Harry  her  feelings  of  utter  scorn  and  in- 
dignation. He  dropped  into  a  chair.  His  eyes 
were  bleared,  his  lips  slightly  ajar  and  his  hands 
limp  at  his  side,  as  he  looked  at  the  wrathful  Mor- 
lene. 

"Harry  Dalton,"  said  she,  "You  are  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  a  villainous  murderer.  I  know  of 
your  nefarious  plottings  and  I  witnessed  your  cow- 
ardly attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Warthell,  a  man, 
the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  the  possessor  of  a  heart 
like  yours  is  unworthy  to  unloose.  But  your  in- 
tended victim  shall  not  die,  unless  an  evil  genius 
presides  over  the  affairs  of  men.  I  have  only 
waited  here  to  tell  you  how  I  loathe  your  crime 
and  that  I  exhausted  every  known  means  to 
thwart  you.  Now  I  leave  you  !" 

Morlene  started  toward  the  door  through  which 
Harry  had  just  come  and  which  led  into  the  hall- 
way. Harry,  who  had  taken  a  seat  not  far  from 
the  door,  arose  as  if  to  intercept  her. 

"Stand  back  from  that  door,  Harry,"  said  Mor- 
lene pulling  a  pistol  from  her  pocket  and  pointing 
it  at  him.  Morlene  had  been  careful  to  see  that 
every  chamber  of  the  pistol  was  empty,  so  that  no 
actual  physical  harm  would  result  from  the  draw- 
ing of  it. 

Harry  knew  that  Morlene,  when  a  country  girl, 
had  learned  to  shoot  well,  and  her  angry  looks 
made  him  feel  that  her  knowledge  as  to  how  to 


UNFETTERED.  133 

shoot  was  supplemented  with  a  determination 
to  shoot  if  he  disobeyed  her.  Lifting  his 
hands  as  if  imploring  her  not  to  shoot,  Harry  re- 
coiled and  Morlene  glided  out  of  the  room,  locking 
the  door  behind  her. 

For  some  time  Harry  stood  in  the  floor  bewil- 
dered by  the  sudden  and  most  unexpected  turn  of 
events.  At  length  he  aroused  himself  and  succeed- 
ed in  breaking  out  of  the  room.  It  was  too  late, 
however,  to  find  any  trace  of  Morlene.  She  had 
made  good  her  escape. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SCENE  SHIFTS. 

An  aged  Negro  woman  trudged  along  Newton 
Street  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  The  ponderous 
strokes  of  Father  Time  had  at  last  bent  her  form  for- 
ward, pushing  it  toward  the  dust  whence  it  came. 
She  was  aided  in  her  shuffling  gait  by  a  crooked  and 
knotted  walking  stick,  which  she  made  use  of  with 
her  left  hand.  Her  attire  betokened  extreme  pov- 
erty and  was  evidently  unequal  to  the  task  of 
shielding  her  from  the  chilly  winds,  which  sought 
with  zeal  every  unprotected  spot,  and  whipped  the 
tears  from  her  eyes.  In  her  right  hand  she  carried 
a  small  tin  box,  her  bony  fingers  clasping  it  as 
tightly  as  they  could.  A  shawl  was  thrown  over 
her  head  somewhat  concealing  her  features. 
Strange  to  say,  a  close  inspection  of  the  woman's 
face  impressed  one  that  there  was  cheerfulness, 
even  happiness,  written  thereon,  despite  her  forlorn 
condition.  As  she  crept  along  she  scanned  the 
buildings  closely,  evidently  trying  to  locate  some 
particular  house. 

A  young  woman  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the 

Lincoln   Hospital,  attired   in   the  garb  of    a  sick 

nurse,  saw  the  old  woman  drawing  near.     "  The 

poor  soul  must  be  suffering  greatly,"  said  the  nurse, 

(134) 


UNFETTERED. 


reaching  for  her  pocketbook.  She  had  determined 
upon  emptying  its  contents  into  the  aged  woman's 
hand  as  the  latter  passed  by. 

Instead  of  passing,  however,  the  woman  stopped 
a  short  distance  from  the  nurse.  Her  frame  shiv- 
ering from  cold,  her  eyes  surveyed  the  entire  front 
of  the  building  in  the  doorway  of  which  stood  the 
nurse.  Seemingly  satisfied  with  the  result  of  iler 
inspection  she  drew  nearer  '  and  said  :  '"iL/eddy, 
please,  miss,  is  dis  de  LinktUm  horsepittui?^'  -^ 

aYes,  aunty,  this  is  the  .-Lincoln  Hospital,1"  the 
nurse  replied. 

The  woinan  dropped  her  stick  and  'the  tin  bcxx^nd 
clapped  her  hands,  saying,  u  Thankee  I  ^habkee 
Jesus  I"  Thankee  !  Heah  at'lasM  'Dfc'ctoe'shlji  dun 
foun*  er  harbur.  Got  er  place  *ter  -'-cross  $  bb£r  Jor- 
dun."  Booking  at  the  nurse,  she  said,  (*Cltfte/*k>es 
yer"  k:now  anyt'ing  'bout  Jesus?  <Dh'  V  h^1  r>romis' 
me  dis,  an'  he's  kep*  his  word."  Ftfmbliri^l^her 
pocket,  she  drew'but  a  soiled  and  crufripled*  Apiece 
of  paper.  This  she  handed  to  the  nutsei,;whd:>fol{nd 
that  it  entitled  the  woman 
'hospital. 

"  Come  with  me,"  said  th?e  nurse  in  kindly  tories. 

Gathering  up  heir  stick  and  tin  box,  she  did  as 
she  was  bidden.  The  woman  was  duly  regiJtiered 
and  assigned  to  the  ward  in  which  this  itiurse  was 
an  attendant.  *  '  "- 

One  afternoon,  the  nt§s^  f$^tf  "By  thfe  bedside  of 
her  new 


136  UNFETTERED. 

almost  stopped  breathing  to  listen.  Sitting  up  in 
her  bed,  she  said  to  the  nurse,  "  Leddy,  ken  you 
fin'  a  pair  ub  specks  fitten'  fur  one  ob  my  age  ?" 

"  I  will  try,  aunty,"  replied  the  nurse. 

After  a  diligent  search,  the  nurse  succeeded  in 
finding  a  pair,  wondering  as  she  searched  what  pos- 
sible use  the  woman  could  have  for  them.  The 
woman  adjusted  the  spectacles  to  her  eyes  and  bent 
her  gaze  on  the  nurse. 

"  Leddy,  please  sing  dat  chune  ergin,"  she  said. 

The  nurse  did  as  requested.  Before  she  had  pro- 
ceeded far  with  the  singing,  the  woman  burst  forth, 
"  Laws  'a  mussy  !  Ef  it  ain't  Lenie  !" 

"Aunt  Catherine!"  exclaimed  the  nurse,  springing 
to  her  feet  and  throwing  her  arms  around  the  wom- 
an's neck. 

-.Aunt  Catherine's  bedimmed  eyesight  and  im- 
paired hearing  had  prevented  her  from  discovering 
before  this  that  her  nurse  was  none  other  than  Mor- 
4ene.  On  the  other  hand,  Aunt  Catherine's  changed 
appearance  was  what  interfered  with  Morlene's 
recognition  of  her  when  they  first  met.  When 
the  woman  said  "  L,enie,"  it  was  all  that  was  need- 
ed, for  it  was  an  appellation  used  in  addressing 
Morlene  by  Aunt  Catherine  only. 

After  many  exchanges  of  tender  greetings,  Mor- 
lene disentangled  herself  from  Aunt  Catherine's 
loving  embrace,  saying,  "  Dear  Aunt  Catherine,  do 
tell  me  all  about  yourself  since  the  day  I  left  you 
to  wait  on — on — Harry.  I  searched  R from 


UNFETTERED.  137 

one  end  to  the  other,  time  and  again,  looking  for 
you.  And  here  you  are  in  Chicago  !  Tell  me 
how  you  have  fared?" 

"Chile,"  said  Aunt  Catherine,  "seein'  you,  L,e- 
nie,  hez  driv'  erway  all  my  trubbuls.  'Pears  ter 
me,  I  dun  got  young  ergin  an*  am  down  Souf  at 
de  ole  home."  After  an  interval  Aunt  Catherine 
proceeded  to  tell  her  experiences,  not,  however,  be- 
fore she  had  taken  the  tin  box  from  under  her  pil- 
low. With  that  clasped  fondly,  she  began  : 

"Wen  I  retched  de  city  arter  leavin'  de  ole 
homestid,  I  'gun  ter  hunt  fur  wuck.  I  got  er  place 
ter  cook  fur  er  white  fambly.  De  leddy  dat  hi'ed 
me  wuzunt  rich.  She  wus  jes  a  good  liver.  Her 
husban's  biznessfell  off  an'  she  had  ter  hire  jes'  one 
'oman  ter  cook,  an'  wash,  an'  i'ne,  an'  scrub  de 
floors,  an'  keep  house.  I  wuz  de  fus'  ter  try  it,  but 
I  kudden'  hole  out,  chile.  I  jes'  kudden'.  Er 
sprightly  gal  tuck  my  place.  Den  I  hed  er  hard 
time,  L/enie.  Yer  Aunt  Catharine  hed  ter  beg  frnm 
door  ter  door.  I  slep'  on  bar'  floors  in  shackly 
houses,  dat  wuz  empty  kase  folks  wouldn't  rent  'um. 
I  went  to  de  dumps  an'  scratched  in  de  trash  piles 
fur  charcoals  and  scraps  ter  burn  ter  keep  me  warm. 
I  begged  money  ernuf  ter  cum  ter  Churcargo,  an1 
heah  I  is.  Dey  tole  me  dat  L,inktum  wuz  frum  dis 
State  an'  I  wuz  in  hopes  ub  doin'  bettah  up  heah. 
But,  Lenie,  'pears  ter  me  dat  de  po  darky  aint  got 
much  ub  er  show  enywhurs.  I  hez  found  it  hard 
Norf  an'  Souf." 


T3  UNFETTERED. 

"  Well,  hencefoith,  I  shall  take  charge  of  you, 
and  walk  through  life  by  your  side,  my  dear  Aunt 
Catherine,''  said  Morlene,  feelingly. 

The  woman  dropped  the  tin  box,  pulled  her 
spectacles  down  a  little  and  looked  over  them  at 
Morlene.  "Ain't  the  doctah  tole  yeryit?"  asked 
Aunt  Catherine,  in  evident  surprise. 

"Told  me  what,  my  dear?"  enquired  Morlene. 

"'Why,  chile,  I  aint  heah  fur  long.  De doctahs 
sez  I  kaint  git  well.  De  gospil  train  dun  blowed. 
It  is  rollin'  into  de  depot.  Capting  Jesus  is  de 
cunducter.  I  hez  my  ticket  ready."  Aunt  Cath- 
erine with  her  broken  voice  now  tried  to  siv  g  the 
following  lines,  swinging  to  and  fro  &H  she  &  mg  : 

"  De  Gospil  train  am  comin', 

I  heah  it  jes'  at  ban', 
I  heah  de  car  wheels  movin', 

Er  rumblin'  through  de  law* 
Git  on  bo'd,  little  chillun, 
Git  on  bo'd,  little  chillun, 
Git  on  bo'd,  little  chillun, 

Dare's  room  fur  many  n-.c/." 

"  Yes,  Lenie,  I'll  soon  be  on  boM/'  resumed 
Aunt  Catherine.  "  De  Yankees  was  mighty  anx- 
ious to  set  us  poor  darkeys  free,  but  it  ain't  done  me 
no  good.  Pack  ub  de  mattah,  L,enie,  freedum 
mebbe  good  fur  you  young  uns  who  wuzunt  use  tel 
de  ole  times.  Fur  your  sakes  I  is  glad  its  come. 
But  I'se  hed  a  hard  time.  Enyhow,  it  is  mos'  ober 
now.  Marse  Maury  is  ded,  an'  Missus  is  ded,  an'  a 
upstart  is  on  de  ole  place,  an'  hez  been  drif  tin'  'bout 


UNFETTERED.  139 

'  pillar  ter  pos'. '  "  Aunt  Catherine's  mind 
now  ran  back  to  the  good  old  past  and  a  joyful 
light  came  into  her  face.  "  Do  yer  see  dis  tin  box  ?" 
she  asked,  breaking  her  silence. 

Morlene  nodded  affirmatively,  not  trusting  her- 
self to  speak,  so  torn  up  were  her  feelings  over  the 
account  of  faithful  Aunt  Catherine's  sufferings. 

"  Lenie,"  said  she,  leaning  toward  Morlene,  a 
most  serious  look  upon  her  face,  "  as  yer  value  yer 
own  soul,  do  wid  dis  tin  box  lack  I'm  gwine  ter 
tell  yer."  Aunt  Catherine  was  now  speaking  in 
low  and  solemn  tones.  "  Wen  yer  wuz  er  gal,  L,e- 
nie,  did  yer  ebber  heah  dat  our  fust  juty  on  jedg- 
ment  day  would  be  to  git  up  frum  whar  eber  we 
wuz  burrit  and  hunt  fur  de  difFrunt  pieces  ub  our 
finger  nails  dat  we  hed  cut  off  all  through  life  ?" 

"Yes,  Aunt  Catherine,"  responded  Morlene. 

"  Wai,  dis  box  hez  got  all  my  finger  nails  dat  I 
cut  off  since  I  wuz  er  gal.  Bury  dis  box  at  de  foot 
ub  Maury  and  Missus,  L,enie.  Wen  jedgment 
day  comes  I  want  ter  git  up  wid  dem.  Ef  my  nails 
is  burrit  by  dem,  I'll  have  ter  go  dare  whar  dey  is. 
See  ?  Yer  know  white  folks  ginilly  ain't  got  heart- 
felt Uigun  like  cullud  folks.  But  Marse  and  Mis. 
sus  shuah  got  shuah  'nuf  'ligun.  I  wants  ter  git  up 
wid  'um  an'  stan'  by  'um  in  jedgment,  ter  speak  up 
fur  um,  ef  eny  body  wants  ter  go  ergin'  um  jes'  kase 
dey  is  white.  See  ?  Bf  dey  doan  b'long  in  hebun, 
den  nobody  doan."  Here  Aunt  Catherine  paused, 
the  talk  having  nearly  exhausted  her. 


140  UNFETTERED. 

"But,  Aunt  Catherine,"  interposed  Morlene, 
"  when  you  do  pass  away,  which  I  hope  will  not 
be  soon,  let  me  bury  your  whole  body  where  you 
tell  me  to  put  this  tin  box.  Lemuel  Dalton  surely 
would  not  refuse  to  allow  the  fulfillment  of  the  sol- 
emn promise  made  to  you  by  Uncle  Maurice  and 
his  wife." 

"  Chile,  I  hed  ter  sell  dis  ole  body  ter  de  doctah 
ter  git  mony  ter  lib  on  while  heah." 

"  Oh,  Aunt  Catherine !"  exclaimed  Morlene,  hold- 
ing up  her  hands  in  horror. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha  !"  laughed  Aunt  Catherine.  "  That 
aint  so  bad,  Lenie,"  she  said.  "  I  sole  my  soul  ter 
Jesus  long  ergo,  an'  w'en  he  takes  it,  dese  doctahs 
kin  do  whut  dey  choose  wid  my  pore  ole  body." 
Morlene  now  burst  into  tears. 

Lovingly  Aunt  Catherine  stroked  Morlene's  hair 
with  her  hand,  saying :  "  Bettah  be  laughin'  fur 
joy,  chile,  fur  er  few  more  risin's  an'  setting  ub  de 
sun  an'  I'll  be  in  glory."  Unable  to  longer  endure 
the  contemplation  of  Aunt  Catherine's  sufferings 
and  approaching  end,  Morlene  arose  and  fled  to  her 
room. 

A  few  days  after  the  conversation  herein  recorded 
Aunt  Catherine  passed  peacefully  away.  The  doc- 
tors that  had  purchased  the  body  presented  them- 
selves and  laid  claim  thereto.  Morlene  told  them 
the  story  of  Aunt  Catherine's  life  of  faithful  serv- 
ice and  subsequent  sufferings,  and  begged  the  boon 
of  taking  the  body  back  to  Tennessee  for  burial. 


UNFETTERED.  141 

Her  request  was  refused,  however,  the  physicians 
deciding  that  they  would  not  allow  a  matter  of  sen- 
timent to  stand  in  the  way  of  advancing  the  inter- 
ests of  science.  Taking  the  tin  box,  so  solemnly 
committed  to  her  charge,  Morlene  turned  her  face 
toward  Tennessee,  journeying  thither  to  fulfill  the 
last  request  of  Aunt  Catherine. 

For  some  time  Morlene  had  been  pondering  a 
proper  course  to  be  pursued  toward  Harry  for  the 

future,     and     her    approaching    visit    to    R 

accentuated  the  matter.  More  and  more  she 
began  to  regard  him  as  an  unbalanced  enthusiast, 
whose  errors,  in  view  of  his  outlook,  were  not 
altogether  unnatural.  Pity,  deep  pity,  stole  into 
her  heart  for  poor  Harry,  and  she  decided,  as  her 
train  was  speeding  onward,  to  return  to  him  in  the 
hope  of  widening  his  horizon  and  giving  him  a 
clearer  view  of  what  was  required  of  an  American 
citizen.  If  she  would  be  of  service  to  Harry,  her 
train  must  move  at  a  faster  rate  than  that  at  which 
it  is  now  traveling. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  BYSTANDERS  CHEER. 

From  his  quest  of  Morlene,  on  the  morning  of 
her  escape,  Harry  returned  to  his  home  in  a  sullen 
mood.  Morlene's  lack  of  appreciation  of  his  dis- 
interested patriotism  which  her  course  revealed  to 
him,  was  a  blow  in  itself,  apart  from  his  loss  of  her 
as  a  wife.  The  fact  that  he  had  lost  his  wife  and  had 
not  slept  any  during  the  whole  night  did  not,  how- 
ever, cause  him  to  remain  away  from  his  accustomed 
labor  that  day.  Cooking  his  own  breakfast,  he  ate 
his  solitary  meal  and  went  forth  to  his  daily  task- 
Anxious  to  learn  what  view  others  took  of  the 
happening  of  the  previous  night,  he  purchased  a 
copy  of  a  morning  paper  and  read  its  comments 
thereon.  It  was  the  same  paper  that  had  com- 
mented so  favorably  upon  what  it  termed  the 
"  Warthell  Movement."  Harry  turned  immediately 
to  the  editorial  columns  and  read  far  enough  to 
see  that  his  act  was  being  condemned.  Thereupon 
he  tore  the  paper  into  shreds,  threw  it  to  the  ground 
and  trampled  upon  it. 

"  Sure  sign  that  I  did  right  to  attack  that  scoun- 
drel Warthell,  if  it  has  made  this  old  Democratic 
paper  mad.  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  Morlene  thought  I  was 

doing  wrong.     I  wasn't  though,  anybody  can  ,see. 
(142) 


UNFETTERED.  143 

for  what  would  this  old  Democratic  paper  be  kick- 
ing about  if  what  I  did  wasn't  against  it  ?"  Thus 
muttered  Harry  to  himself  as  he  went  on  to  his 
work. 

"  We'll  hear  a  different  tune  when  the  North- 
ern Republican  papers  begin  to  discuss  our  attempt 
to  get  rid  of  these  Negro  traitors  who  are  plotting 
to  undo  all  that  the  North  has  done  for  us.  I  take 
my  medicine  from  the  North;  let  the  South  go 
where  it  please.  See  ?  Any  Negro  that  will  stand 
up  for  the  South  against  the  North  is  an  infernal, 
ungrateful ,  good  for  nothing  rascal,  and  ought  to  be 
killed.  Tell  him  I  said  so."  These  last  words, 
addressed  by  Harry  to  himself,  were  accompanied 
with  the  shaking  of  a  clenched  fist  at  an  imaginary 
foe.  The  more  he  pondered  his  course,  the  more 
he  praised  himself,  and  the  more  outrageous  Mor- 
lene's  desertion  of  him  seemed.  Eagerly  he  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  Northern  papers  that  he  might  re- 
gard his  vindication  as  complete. 

Harry  went  about  his  daily  task  in  a  half  cheer- 
ful, half  moody  frame  of  mind,  pondering  what 
steps  to  take  with  reference  to  his  wife,  but  arriving 
at  no  definite  conclusion. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  day  or  so  the  eagerly-looked- 
for  Northern  Republican  paper  came.  Harry 
smiled  with  satisfaction,  saying  to  himself  :  "  Now 
we  shall  hear  the  thing  talked  about  right." 

The  article  was  headed,  "A  Crime  Against  Free- 
dom." Harry  now  thought  that  the  article  was. 


144  UNFETTERED. 

going  to  gibbet  Dorian  Warthell  for  having  com- 
mitted a  crime  against  the  freedom  of  the  Negro 
by  refusing  to  longer  affiliate  with  the  party  that 
gave  him  freedom.  He  reread  the  caption,  "A 
Crime  Against  Freedom."  "  Yes,  yes;  only  it  ought 
to  be  (An  Unpardonable  Crime,'  for  that  is  what  it 
was."  Eager  to  feast  on  the  invectives  to  be  hurled 
at  Dorian,  he  stood  still  on  the  street  corner  and  be- 
gan to  read: 

"  The  United  States  of  America  is  a  government 
ruled  by  the  duly  ascertained  will  of  a  majority  of 
its  citizens.  Each  qualified  citizen  has  the  right 
of  casting  one  vote  in  support  of  whatever  side  of 
an  issue  that  pleases  him.  Each  citizen  has  the 
further  right  to  use  all  legitimate  means  in  his 
power  to  induce  other  citizens  to  cast  their  votes 
as  he  casts  his. 

"The  right  of  advocacy  is,  if  possible,  more 
sacred  than  the  right  to  vote,  for  the  votes  of  fellow 
citizens  go  well  nigh  the  whole  length  in  shaping  a 
man's  environments.  Since  the  votes  of  others  are 
the  majority  influence  in  determining  a  man's  envi- 
ronments, it  is  manifestly  unjust  to  deny  him  the 
opportunity  of  influencing  these  votes.  He  who 
strikes  at  freedom  of  speech  strikes  at  the  corner- 
stone of  our  republic,  and,  to  our  view,  commits 
the  greatest  crime  that  a  citizen  can  commit  against 
a  government. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  we  are  in  full  accord  with 
the  Republican  party's  policy  with  reference  to  the 


UNFETTERED.  145 

Philippine  Islands.  While  we  are  firmly ;  of  the 
opinion  that  the  party  is  right,  we  nevertheless 
strenuously  insist  that  those  who  hold  contrary 
views  be  accorded  the  right  to  advocate  those  views. 

"Dorian  Warthell,  a  Negro  in  the  South,  has 
seen  fit  to  publicly  disapprove  of  a  portion  of 'the 
party's  policy,  whereupon  a  Negro  Republican 
zealot  has  sought  to  take  his  life.  The  Republican 
party  repudiates  such  vile  methods  and'  the  -man 
who  resorts  to  them. 

"Mr.  Warthell  has  as  much  right  to  express 
his  views,  whatever  they  may  be,  as  the  President 
of  the  nation.  The  fact  that  he  is  a  member  of  a 
race  that  obtained  its  freedom  through  the  .instru- 
mentality of  the  Republican  party  does  not  alter 
the  matter  in  the  least.  The  Republican  party  has 
no  politcal  slaves  and  desires  none..  It  seeks  to 
commend  itself  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 

men,  and  spurns  every  semblance  of  coercion. 

•  » i- 

"The  miscreant  who  sought  to  kill  Mr.  War- 
thell, because  that  individual  dared  to-be  a  rnan,  is 
unworthy  of  life.  If  the  arms  of  justice  are  too 
short  to  reach  him,  it  is  hardly  to  be  hoped  that  he 
will  have  the  good  sense  to  bring  his  own  unprofit- 
able existence  to  a  close." 

When  Harry  had  finished  he  let  the  paper  fall 
to  the  ground.  He  felt  as  though  the  very  skies  had 
fallen  down  upon  him.  To  find  the  great  Repub- 
lican party  lifting  its  voice  in  condemnation  of  his 


146  UNFETTERED. 

act  was  more  than  he  could  bear.  Stooping  down, 
he  picked  up  the  paper  and  re-read  the  closing  par- 
agraph. 

"  I  can  surprise  them  yet.  They  say  '  It  is  hardly 
to  be  hoped  that  he  will  have  the  good  sense  to 
bring  his  own  unprofitable  existence  to  a  close.' 
Aha  1  we  shall  see  !"  said  Harry,  a  grim  determina- 
tion settling  over  his  gloomy  soul. 

Deserted  by  Morlene,  repudiated  by  the  Repub- 
lican party,  which  he  had  always  regarded  as  the 
vicegerent  of  God,  Harry  decided  to  have  his  life 
come  to  a  close  in  some  way.  He  began  to  give 
earnest  thought  to  the  finding  of  the  proper  method 
!%*'  of  departure.  In  the  matter  of  closing  his  earthly 
career,  he  was  hampered  by  his  religious  views. 
He  was  a  firm  believer  in  Heaven  and  in  a  literal 
Hell.  In  common  with  many  other  Negroes,  he 
believed  that  the  Bible  contained  a  specific  declara- 
tion to  the  effect  that  all  sins  could  be  forgiven  a 
man  except  the  sin  of  self-murder. 

To  cause  himself  to  die  and  yet  escape  Hell  was 
the  problem  that  now  occupied  Harry's  mind. 
From  day  to  day  he  deliberated  on  the  matter.  At 
one  time  he  was  attracted  by  the  thought  of  laying 
down  upon  a  railroad  track  in  some  isolated  spot  in 
the  hope  that  he  would  fall  asleep  and  fail  to  awake 
on  the  approach  of  a  train.  In  case  he  did  not 
awake,  he  thought  that  his  death  could  properly 
be  construed  as  an  accident.  Then  he  thought  of 
becoming  an  attendant  upon  the  sick?  choosing 


UNFETTERED.  147 

such  patients  to  serve  as  were  afflicted  with  danger- 
ons  contagious  diseases. 

Months  and  months  passed,  summer  and  fall 
sped  by  and  made  way  for  winter,  but  Harry's  pur- 
pose remained.  The  question  of  a  way  to  die  was 
at  last  solved  for  him  in  a  most  unexpected  man- 
ner. One  afternoon  as  he  was  returning  from 
work,  he  saw  far  ahead  of  him,  coming  in  his  direc- 
tion, a  pair  of  runaway  horses  hitched  to  a  double 
seated  carriage.  As  the  carriage  came  near  he  saw 
that  the  driver's  seat  was  empty  and  that  a  white 
lady  and  three  children  were  seated  in  the  carriage 
in  imminent  peril  of  their  lives.  "  Thank  God  !" 
Harry  murmured,  "the  way  appears."  As  the 
horses  came  galloping  down  the  street,  Harry  sta- 
tioned himself  in  such  a  position  that  he  would  be 
able  to  make  an  effort  to  intercept  them. 

"Get  out  of  the  way,  you  fool!"  frantically 
shouted  one  after  another  of  the  bystanders. 
"  Those  horses  will  kill  you."  To  all  of  this  Har- 
ry paid  no  heed.  Harry's  sublime  heroism  stilled 
the  shoutings  of  the  multitude.  The  people  stood 
mute  gazing  at  Harry,  so  unflinchingly  awaiting  the 
coming  of  the  runaways.  When  the  horses  came 
sweeping  by,  Harry  leapt  to  the  head  of  the  one 
nearest  him  and  grappled  the  bridle.  The  mad- 
dened horses  bore  him  from  his  feet  and  onward, 
but  Harry  clung  to  the  bridle.  Unable  to  longer 
carry  so  heavy  a  weight  clinging  to  his  mouth,  the 
horse  to  which  Harry  was  holding  checked  his  speed 


148  UNFETTERED. 

and  brought  his  fellow  to  a  stand.  This  result  was 
not  achieved,  however,  without  fatal  injuries  to 
Harry. 

Turning  the  bridle  loose  Harry  fell  at  the  feet 
of  the  horses,  others  now  rushing  forward  to  take 
charge  of  them.  As  Harry  lay  upon  the  ground 
covered  with  dust  and  blood,  a  crowd  of  citizens 
gathered  about  him.  The  lady  whose  life  had  been 
saved,  the  wife  of  a  leading  banker  j  got  out  of  the 
carriage,  and,  elbowing  her  way  through  the  crowd, 
stooped  down  to  wipe  the  blood  stains  from  Harry's 
face. 

Harry  who  had  been  unconscious  revived  and 
smiled  feebly  in  recognition  of  the  kindness.  The 
crowd  that  had  witnessed  his  heroic  deed  now  gave 
a  mighty  cheer,  joyful  that  he  was  alive.  Before 
the  cheering  subsided,  the  light  of  life  died  out  of 
Harry's  eyes  and  his  soul  had  sped. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

TO  BEGIN  LIFE  ANEW,  AS  IT  WERE. 
When  a  few  hours  later  Morlene  arrived  at  her 

home  in  R ,  she  found  crepe  on  the  door,  and 

was  told  by  a  neighbor  that  was  just  leaving,  that 
Harry  had  died  that  day.  She  stood  as  if  rooted 
to  the  spot,  her  beautiful  eyes  recording  the  storm 
of  pity  that  was  rising  in  her  bosom.  Mechanical- 
ly she  turned  and  placed  one  foot  on  the  step  to 
the  porch,  as  if  to  leave.  "Horror!  Horror!  Hor- 
ror everywhere  !  "  she  cried  out.  "But  why  am  I 
fleeing?  It  is  abroad  in  the  whole  expanse  of 
earth.  If  Harry  was  to  die,  tell  me,  tell  me,  why 
he  could  net  have  awaited  to  carry  my  forgive- 
ness with  him."  In  that  moment,  looking  back 
upon  her  whole  career  since  the  death  of  Maurice 
Dalton,  she  felt  her  faith  in  the  benevolent  char- 
acter of  the  arbiter  of  human  destinies  rudely 
shaken.  Her  body  recoiled  in  response  to  a  like 
impulse  of  her  soul  that  shrank  from  the  benumb- 
ing misanthropism  that  sought  to  lay  its  cold  dead 
fingers  on  her  heart.  In  one  last  supreme  effort  to 
retain  her  faith  she  burst  forth  into  song.  In  tones 
angelic,  from  a  heaving  bosom,  she  poured  forth 
the  following  words: 

"Abide  with  ine  !     Fast  falls  the  eventide; 
The  darkness  deepens — Lord,  with  me  abide! 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee, 
Help  of  the  helpless, — O  abide  with  me  !" 

(149) 


UNEETTEREi). 


When  Morlene  began  to  sing  her  eyes  glistened 
with  tears;  but  these  now  disappeared  as  a  look  of 
submission  stole  therein.  Again  humbly  obedient 
to  the  forces  that  were  guiding  her  life,  she  en- 
tered her  home,  knelt  and  gazed  long  at  the  fea- 
tures of  Harry,  her  spirit  seeking  to  unravel  that 
mystic  smile  that  his  face  was  wearing  even  in 

death. 

****** 

Two  days  later  the  business  men  of  R  -  swore, 
the  housewives  grew  red  in  the  face,  but  it  was  all 
of  no  avail.  The  Negro  laboring  men  and  cooks 
were  determined  upon  going  to  Harry's  funeral^ 
even  if  it  cost  them  their  jobs.  So,  business  was  par- 
tially paralyzed  and  the  white  women  of  fashionable 
circles  had  to  enter  their  own  kitchens  while  the 
Negroes  thronged  to  the  church  wherein  the  fu- 
neral services  were  to  be  held. 

Though  the  funeral  was  to  take  place  at  two 
o'clock,  the  edifice  was  crowded  at  twelve,  those 
anxious  for  seats  rushing  there  thus  early.  Accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  church  to  which  Harry  be- 
longed, his  body  had  lain  therein  all  the  night  pre- 
vious and  his  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  church 
had  assembled  and  conducted  a  song  and  prayer 
service  over  his  remains.  When  the  hour  for  the 
funeral  arrived,  the  pulpit  was  full  of  ministers  of 
various  denominations. 

Harry  had,  according  to  the  custom  prevailing, 
chosen  the  hymns  to  be  sung  at  his  funeral,  the  text 


UNFETTERED. 

from  which  the  funeral  sermon  was  to  be  preached, 
the  ministers  who  were  to  officiate — in  fact,  had  ar- 
ranged for  every  detail  of  the  occasion.  Every- 
thing was  done  according  to  his  wishes. 

The  services  were  at  last  brought  to  a  close  and 
the  funeral  procession  was  formed.  The  hearse 
led  the  way  being  followed  by  the  great  concourse 
of  the  members  of  the  church,  walking  en  masse 
and  chanting  mournful  dirges  as  they  proceeded. 
Following  the  throng  came  the  carriage  contain- 
ing Morlene  and  Stephen  Dalton,  Harry's  father. 
The  old  man's  form  is  now  bent,  his  short  hair 
white  and  he  is  sad  at  heart  that  it  is  Harry's  fun- 
eral and  not  his  own.  Following  this  carriage 
containing  Morlene  and  Stephen  Dalton  was  that 
of  the  banker,  who  with  his  wife  and  childrerj'had 
come  to  pay  this  tribute  of  respect  to  the  mefriory 
of  Harry.  When  the  procession  reached  the  cem- 
etery, twilight  had  come  to  render  the  interment 
peculiarly  solemn. 

Harry  was  lowered  to  his  last  resting  place  and 
each  one  of  his  immediate  friends  picked  up  a  clod 
and  cast  it  into  the  open  grave,  the  good-bye  salu- 
tation for  the  dead.  All  staid  until  the  grave  was 
covered  over,  then  turned  to  leave. 

The  cemetery  in  which  Harry  had  been  laid  to 
rest  was  upon  an  elevation.  When  the  carriage 
containing  Morlene  had  proceeded  homeward  for 
some  distance  and  was  at  the  point  where  the 
slowly  declining  elevation  had  reached  a  level 


152 

witb  the  lower  lands,  she  caused  the  driver  to  stop 
for  a  few  minutes  while  she  and  Stephen  Dalton 
aligfhtedv  The  two  stood  and  looked  for  awhile  in 
silence  toward  the  cemetery  above  them,  the 
lighted  lamps  burning  dimly  among  the  trees 
up  there.  One  solitary  star  peered  out  of  the  east- 
em  Sky:  Its  lonely  light,  like  words  spoken  in  the 
hotif'bf  grief,  evidently  sought  to  cheer,  but  only 
serVtM  to  make  the  feeling  of  sadness  deepen. 

By  and  by  in  tones  soft  and  low  and  earnest, 
Mo&ene  broke  the  silence,  saying  :  "  Father,  Har- 
ry'^1 body  lies,  up  yonder,  and,  behold,  the  place  is 
lighted;  |  May  we  not  hope  that  his  spirit,  in  spite 
of  his  weaknesses,  has  gone  upward,  and  may  we 
not-  also  hope  that  there  the  spirit,  too,  has  light, 
m6te  light  than  came  to  it  in  this  darkened  world?" 
Stephen  Dalton  made  no  reply.  The  only  thing 
that  -he  now  cared  to  answer  was  the  final  sum- 
mons.* He  regarded  himself  as  an  alien  on  earth. 
The  two  '  ire-entered  the  carriage  and  drove  to  the 
city.  •••'••• 

The  next  day,  Morlene  repaired  to  the  Dalton 
estate  and  buried  at  the  designated  spot  the  box  that 
Aunt  Catherine  had  entrusted  to  her  care.  Thus 
a  close  one  epoch  in  Morlene's  life. 


:;    < 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

EXCUSABLE  RUDENESS. 

We  left  Dorian  sorely  wounded  on  the  night  of 
the  mass  meeting.  Though  he  was  immediately 
furnished  with  the  best  available  medical  attention, 
it  did  not  prevent  the  setting  in  of  a  species  of 
blood  poisoning  which  rendered  his  condition  pe- 
culiarly precarious.  As  soon  as  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable, he  was  carried  North  and  placed  under  the 
care  of  an  eminent  specialist. 

Dorian  began  to  slowly  improve,  but  at  such 
a  rate  thac  he  now  saw  that  he  was  to  be  a  mere 
onlooker  to  the  presidential  campaign  in  which  he 
had  hoped  to  be  the  determining  factor.  On  the 
day  of  the  election  his  interest  was  so  great  that  he 
got  out  of  bed  and  sat  at  his  window,  eagerly  scan- 
ning the  faces  of  the  voters  as  they  went,  and  came 
from  the  polls,  hoping,  it  seemed,  to  tell  from  their 
countenances  what  verdicts  they  were  rendering. 
He  had  made  arrangements  with  a  newsboy  to 
bring  him  a  copy  of  the  first  "  Extra"  to  be  issued 
giving  information  as  to  how  the  conflict  had  ter- 
minated. 

At  a  comparatively  early  hour  of  the  night  the 
newsboy  knocked  on  Dorian's  door.  "  Come  in," 
called  out  Dorian.  The  boy  poked  his  head  in  the 

(158) 


154  UNFETTERED. 

door,  cast  a  quick  glance  about,  then  entered. 
"  Here's  your  paper,  Mister.  Good  news  for  you" 
said  he,  smiling  as  he  handed  the  paper  to  Dorian. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  it  contains  news  pleas- 
ing to  me?"  inquired  Dorian,  looking  at  the  boy 
earnestly. 

"'Cause  you  are  a  colored  man,"  responded  the 
boy,  with  an  air  of  complete  assurance.  Having 
been  paid,  he  now  hurried  out  to  proceed  on  his 
route. 

"  Even  the  children  feel  that  they  know  the  poli- 
tics of  every  Negro  by  glancing  at  his  skin.  Too 
bad!  I  suppose  the  boy  means  to  say  the  Republic- 
ans have  won,"  mused  Dorian.  He  now  looked  at 
his  paper  and  soon  was  convinced  that  the  Repub- 
licans had  won  an  overwhelming  victory. 

Dorian  was  stunned.  "  What !"  he  exclaimed, 
"  Has  a  reaction  against  that  idealism  which  has 
hitherto  been  its  chief  glory  really  set  in  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race?  Has  commercialism  really  throt- 
tled altruism  ?  Has  the  era  of  the  recognition  of 
the  inherent  rights  of  men  come  to  a  close?  Has 
our  government  lent  its  sanction  to  the  code  of  in- 
ternational morals  that  accords  the  strong  the  right 
to  rule  the  weak,  brushing-  aside  by  the  force  of 
arms  every  claim  of  the  weak  ?  Alas!  Alas!" 

For  many  days  Dorian  was  very,  very  despond- 
ent. The  North  had  voted  to  re-enthrone  the 
Republican  party  without  exacting  of  it  a  spe- 
cific promise  as  to  the  regard  to  be  had  to  the 


155 

claims  of  the  Filipinos  to  inherent  equality.  This 
amazed  him.  But  as  the  political  excitement  sub- 
sided and  he  could  feel  the  pulse  of  the  American 
people  apart  from  the  influence  of  partizan  zeal,  he 
was  the  better  able  to  analyze  their  verdict. 

First,  the  failure  to  declare  as  to  the  ultimate 
status  of  the  Filipinos  was  in  a  measure  due  to  the 
politicians  whose  uniform  policy  is  to  postpone  ac- 
tion on  new  problems  until  public  sentiment  has 
had  time  to  crytallize.  They  were  not  quite  certain 
as  to  what  was  the  full  import  of  the  new  national 
appetite  and  they  were  avoiding  specific  declarations 
until  they  could  find  out. 

Secondly,  the  people  of  the  North  were  in  no 
mood  to  be  hurried  as  to  their  policy  with  regard 
to  the  Filipinos.  They  had  before  them  the  ex- 
ample of  Negroes  of  the  South  even  then  calling 
upon  the  North  to  return  and  set  them  free  again. 
With  this  example  of  imperfect  work  before  them 
the  people  of  the  North  refused  to  be  wrought  up 
into  a  great  frenzy  of  excitement  over  giving  titu- 
lar independence  to  the  Filipinos. 

Thirdly,  Dorian  discovered  that  the  election,  in- 
stead of  revealing  a  decline  in  altruism,  on  the 
contrary,  gave  evidence  of  the  broadening  and 
deepening  of  that  spirit.  He  now  saw  in  the  ver- 
dict of  the  North  the  high  resolve  to  begin  at  the 
very  foundation  and  actually  lift  the  Filipinos  to 
such  a  plane  that  they  would  not  only  have  freedom, 
but  the  power  to  properly  exercise  and  preserve 


156 

the  same.  Instead  of  losing  its  position  as  the 
teacher  of  nations,  our  government  was,  he  saw,  to 
confirm  its  title  to  that  proud  position.  So  nobly, 
so  thoroughly,  was  it  to  do  its  work  of  leading  the 
Filipinos  into  all  the  blessings  of  higher  civiliza- 
tion, that  other  nations  in  contact  with  weaker  peo- 
ples might  find  here  a  guide  for  their  statesmen  to 
follow.  Thus  he  found  written  in  the  hearts  of  the 
noble  people  of  the  North  the  plank  which  pro- 
vided adequately  for  the  ultimate  status  of  the  Fil- 
ipinos, which  plank  he  had  earnestly  longed  to  see 
appear  in  the  platforms  of  all  political  parties  as- 
piring for  the  control  of  the  government. 

His  faith  in  the  people  did  not,  however,  influ- 
ence him  to  forget  that  "  eternal  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  liberty."  He  was  still  of  the  opinion 
that  the  nation  needed  a  balance  wheel,  needed  a 
free  lance  ready  to  bear  down  upon  all  who,  drunk 
with  the  wine  of  prosperity  or  maddened  by  greed 
for  gain,  might  seek  to  lure  the  American  people 
from  the  faith  of  the  fathers. 

Thus  Dorian,  intending  to  begin  anew  his  move- 
ment which  we  saw  so  tragically  interrupted,  re- 
turned to  R ,  only  to  suffer  a  second  interrup- 
tion in  a  manner  now  to  be  detailed. 

One  afternoon  as  Dorian  sat  in  his  room  in  the 

city  of  R ,  musing  on  the  task  before  him,  his 

elbows  on  the  table  and  his  noble,  handsome  face 
resting  in  his  hands,  rich  music,  as  on  a  former  c**- 


UNFETTERED.  157 

casion  more  than  a  year  ago,  came  floating  up  to 
him.  The  music  revealed  the  touch  and  the  voice 
of  Morlene.  He  had  not  seen  nor  heard  from  her 
since  that  eventful  night  on  which  she  labored  so 
valiantly  to  save  his  life. 

Dorian  arose  and  went  down  stairs  with  a  view 
to  renewing  his  acquaintance  with  Morlene.  He 
knew  nothing  whatever  of  Harry's  death,  which 
had  transpired  in  his  absence.  Dorian  entered  the 
room  where  Morlene  was  playing.  She  turned  to 
receive  the  new  comer  whoever  it  might  be.  A 
joyful  exclamation  escaped  her  lips  when  she  per- 
cieved  that  it  was  Dorian. 

"  Mr.  Warthell,  I  am  so  very  glad  to  see  you 
alive  and  well.  How  often  have  I  subjected  my 
actions  to  the  closest  scrutiny,  disposed  to  accuse 
myself  of  not  doing  all  that  might  have  been  done 
to  prevent  that  dastardly  assault  upon  you." 

Dorian  was  so  entranced  with  Morlene's  loveli- 
ness that  he  did  not  catch  the  full  purport  of 
what  she  was  saying.  Morlene  was  clad  in  mourn- 
ing and  Dorian  was  drinking  in  the  beauty  of  her 
loveliness  in  this  new  combination. 

When  Morlene  finished  her  sentence  and  it  was 
incumbent  upon  Dorian  to  reply,  he  was  momenta- 
rily embarrassed,  not  knowing  what  to  say,  having 
lost  what  Morlene  was  saying  by  absorption  in  con- 
templating her  great  beauty.  It  was  tolerably 
tp  Jntn  that  her  remark  was  pue  of  solicitor^ 


158  UNFETTERED. 

interest  in  himself,  and  after  a  very  brief  pause  he 
said : 

"Excuse  me  for  not  desiring  to  give  attention  to 
myself,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  I  am  but  now  made 
aware  by  your  mourning  that  some  dear  one  has 
passed  away." 

"  You  have  not  heard,  then,"  said  Morlene,  a  look 
of  sadness  creeping  over  her  face.  She  sat  down 
on  the  piano  stool  whence  she  had  arisen.  "  I 
have  lost  my  husband.  He  was  killed  in  the  act 
of  stopping  some  runaway  horses  more  than  a  year 
ago." 

Immediately  there  burst  upon  Dorian's  con- 
sciousness the  thought  that  Morlene  was  free  and 
that  he  might  aspire  for  her  hand.  So  great  a 
hope  thrust  upon  him  so  suddenly  bewildered  him 
by  its  very  glory.  Ordinarily  imperturbable,  even 
in  the  face  of  unexpected  situations,  he  was  now 
visibly  agitated.  He  knew  that  he  ought  to  frame 
words  of  condolence,  but  the  new  hope,  springing 
from  the  secret  chambers  of  his  heart  where  he 
had  long  kept  it  in  absolute  bondage,  clamored 
so  loudly  for  a  hearing  that  he  could  not  deploy 
enough  of  his  wits  to  speak  in  keeping  with  the 
amenities  of  the  situation. 

"  Excuse  me  for  a  few  moments,  Mrs.  Dalton," 
asked  Dorian,  leaving  the  room.  He  went  up  the 
stairs  leading  to  his  room,  taking  two  steps  at  a 
bound,  Entering,  he  locked  his  door.  Thrust- 


UNFETTERED.  159 

ing  his  hands  into  his  pockets,  he  gazed  ab- 
stractedly at  the  floor  for  a  moment,  then  up  at  the 
ceiling.  The  word  which  as  a  boy  he  had  used 
to  denote  great  astonishment  now  came  unbidden 
to  his  lips. 

"  Gee-whillikens !"  he  exclaimed.  "  And  that 
divine  woman  is  free  !  Thought,  I  wish  you 
would  sink  into  my  consciousness  at  once,"  said 
Dorian,  apostrophizing.  A  few  moments  succeeded 
in  imparting  to  him  an  outward  look  of  calm.  He 
then  returned  and  expressed  his  feelings  of  condo- 
lence in  words  that  suggested  themselves  to  him  as 
being  appropriate.  He  soon  excused  himself  from 
Morlene's  presence  with  a  view  to  rearranging  his 
whole  system  of  thinking  so  as  to  be  in  keeping 
with  the  new  conditions  with  which  he  was  thus 
unexpectedly  confronted.  "  I  have  a  little  problem 
of  desired  expansion  on  my  own  hands,  and  I  fear 
the  government  will  have  to  wag  along  without  me 
the  best  way  it  can  for  a  while,"  said  Dorian  to 
himself. 

The  ultimate  status  of  Morlene  Dalton  was  now 
of  more  importance  to  him  than  the  ultimate  status 
of  the  Filipinos. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  STREET  PARADE. 

A  band  of  Negro  musicians  playing  a  popular  air, 
was  passing  through  the  street  on  which  Dorian 
resided.  He  was  in  the  act  of  going  out  of  the 
gate  as  the  procession  got  opposite  to  him,  and 
paused  to  allow  it  to  pass.  There  was  a  great  con- 
course of  Negro  boys  and  girls,  men  and  women, 
following  the  band  of  musicians.  Their  clothes 
were  unclean,  ragged  and  ill-fitting.  Their  faces 
and  hands  were  soiled  and  seemed  not  to  have 
been  washed  for  many  a  day.  The  motley  throng 
seemed  to  be  utterly  oblivious  o£  its  gruesome  ap- 
pearance, and  all  were  walking  along  in  boldness 
and  with  good  cheer. 

"Now  those  Negroes  are  moulding  sentiment 
against  the  entire  race,"  thought  Dorian,  as  his 
eye  scanned  the  unsightly  mass.  "Be  the  require- 
ment just  or  unjust  the  polished  Negro  is  told  to 
return  and  bring  his  people  with  him,  before  com- 
ing into  possession  of  that  to  which  his  attain- 
ments would  seem  to  entitle  him.  It  is  my  opin- 
ion that  there  must  be  developed  within  the  race 
a  stronger  altruistic  tie  before  it  can  push  forward 
at  a  proper  gait.  The  classes  must  love  the  masses, 
(160) 


UNFETTERED.  l6l 

in  spite  of  the  bad  name  the  race  is  given  -by 
the  indolent,  the  sloven  and  the  criminal  ele- 
ment." Taking  another  survey  of  the  throng  he 
said,  uAh!  the  squalor  and  misery  of  my  poor 
voiceless  race  !  What  we  see  here  is  but  a  bird's- 
eye  view.  The  heart  grows  sick  when  it  contem- 
plates the  plight  of  the  Negroes  of  the  cities." 

Dorian's  eye  now  wandered  from  the  people  to 
the  band.  In  the  midst  of  the  musicians  he  saw 
a  cart  pulled  by  five  dogs  hitched  abreast.  In  the 
cart  stood  a  man  holding  aloft  a  banner  which 
bore  a  peculiar  inscription. 

Dorian  read  the  inscription  on  the  banner  and 
looked  puzzled.  Coming  out  of  his  gate  he  kept 
pace  with  the  procession,  never  withdrawing  his 
eye  from  the  banner.  He  read  it  the  second,  third, 
fourth  and  fifth  times.  At  length  he  called  out, 
"Hold!  here  am  I."  The  occupant  of  the  cart 
leapt  up  and  gazed  wildly  over  the  throng,  endeav- 
oring to  see  the  person  that  had  spoken. 

"  Here,"  said  Dorian.  The  man  looked  at  Dor- 
Ian,  jumped  from  his  cart  and  rushed  through  the 
crowd  and  ran  to  Dorian's  side.  Taking  a  knife 
from  his  pocket  he  quickly  made  a  slit  in  Dorian's 
clothes  just  over  the  muscular  part  of  his  left  arm. 
The  purposes  of  the  man  were  so  evidently  ami- 
cable that  Dorian  interposed  no  objection.  The 
man  seemed  to  be  satisfied  with  what  he  saw.  He 
now  tfrrew  himself  at  Dorian's  feet  and  uttered 


l62  UNFETTERED. 

loud  exclamations  of  joy.     Arising  he   turned  to 
pay  and  dismiss  the  band. 

The  throng  by  this  time  was  thoroughly  excited 
over  the  curious  antics  of  the  stranger,  and  had 
clustered  around  Dorian  wondering  what  it  was 
that  had  caused  such  an  abrupt  cessation  of  the 
open  air  concert  which  they  were  enjoying.  The 
stranger  now  locked  his  arm  in  that  of  Dorian  and 
the  two  returned  to  Dorian's  home.  The  crowd 
followed  and  stood  for  a  long  time  at  Dorian's  gate 
hoping  that  the  two  would  return  and  afford  an 
explanation.  As  this  did  not  happen,  they  at 
length  dispersed. 

When  Dorian  and  the  stranger  entered  the  for- 
mer's room  and  were  seated,  they  looked  at  each 
other  in  silence,  Dorian  awaiting  to  be  addressed 
and  the  stranger  seeking  to  further  assure  himself 
that  he  was  not  mistaken.  He  arose  and  again 
looked  at  the  markings  on  Dorian's  arm.  He  now 
spoke  some  words  in  a  strange  tongue.  Dorian 
readily  replied  in  the  same  language. 

The  stranger  now  felt  safe  in  beginning  his 
narrative.  Said  he,  in  English,  u  My  name  is 
Ulbah  Kumi.  I  hail  from  Africa.  I  am  one  of  an 
army  of  commissioners  sent  out  by  our  kingdom 
into  all  parts  of  the  world  where  Negroes  have 
been  held  in  modern  times  as  slaves.  We  are  hunt- 
i"iorfor  the  descendants  of  alost  prince.  This  prince 
was  the  oldest  son  of  our  reigning  king,  a.ncl 


UNFETTERED.  163 

taken  captive  in  a  battle  fought  with  a  rival  king- 
dom. He  was  sold  into  slavery.  The  royal  family 
had  a  motto  and  a  family  mark.  You  recognized 
the  motto  on  the  banner  ;  you  have  the  royal  mark. 
You  also  look  to  be  a  prince.  Tell  me  your  family 
history  and  I  will  make  to  you  further  disclosures." 

Dorian  now  told  of  his  father  and  his  grand- 
father. His  grandfather  had  always  claimed  to  be 
the  heir  to  an  African  throne,  had  imbued  his,  Dor- 
ian's father,  with  that  thought.  The  father  had 
taught  the  same  to  Dorian.  A  certain  formula, 
said  to  be  known  to  no  others  on  earth,  was  cher- 
ished in  their  family. 

"  Now  !  Now  !"  said  Kumi  when  Dorian  recited 
that  fact.  "  That  formula  is  no  doubt  a  key  that 
will  unfold  the  hiding  place  of  treasures  that  will 
make  you  the  richest  man  in  the  world.  Here  is 
an  inventory  of  what  is  to  be  found  in  that  hiding 
place." 

Dorian  took  the  reputed  inventory.  The  enor- 
mous value  of  the  items  cited  staggered  his  imagi- 
nation. ' '  This  is  incredulous,"  said  Dorian.  "  How 
could  Africans,  unlearned  in  the  values  of  civilized 
nations,  know  how  to  store  away  these  things." 

"  Easily  explained,"  said  Kumi.  "  A  white  ex- 
plorer spent  years  in  our  kingdom  collecting  these 
things.  We  deemed  them  worthless,  gave  them  to 
him  readily  and  called  him  fool.  .  He  took  sick  in 

r  country  arid  saw  that  he  was  going  to  die,    He 


164  UNFETTERED. 

called  your  great  grandfather,  our  king,  to  his  bed- 
side, told  him  that  civilization  would  make  its  way 
into  Africa  one  day,  and  urged  him  at  all  hazards 
to  preserve  and  secrete  the  treasures  that  he  had 
collected.  Our  king  was  led  to  believe  that  these 
treasures  would  make  him  one  of  the  greatest  rulers 
of  earth,  and  he  obeyed  the  dying  man's  injunc- 
tion. The  white  man  left  this  inventory  and  a 
document  giving  the  location  of  his  European  home, 
the  names  and  family  history  of  his  kin,  asking 
that  our  king  remember  them  in  the  day  of  his 
affluence. 

"  Our  king  gave  the  formula  that  leads  to  the 
hiding  place  to  your  grandfather,  your  grandfather 
told  it  to  your  father,  your  father  has,  I  see,  no 
doubt,  told  it  to  you. 

uAs  a  further  proof  that  I  speak  the  truth  I  hand 
you  now  a  few  specimen  stones  that  were  reserved 
to  prevent  this  affair  from  being  classed  as  a  myth." 
He  now  took  from  a  pocket  a  box  of  costly  stones 
and  handed  them  to  Dorian. 

"  How  these  things  would  grace  Moilene," 
thought  Dorian,  as  his  eye  passed  from  one  spark- 
ling jewel  to  another. 

It  now  occurred  to  Dorian  that  the  acceptance  of 
this  fortune  might  entail  upon  him  a  sacrifice  of 
which  he  was  incapable.  It  might  involve  his  leav- 
ing this  country,  a  step  that  he  could  not  even  con- 
template in  view  of  the  fact  that  Morlene  was  now 
free,  The  looming  of  this  contingency  before  his. 


UNFETTERED.  165 

mind  caused  him  to  drop  the  jewels  as  though 
they  had  suddenly  become  hot.  Kumi  looked  up 
at  him  in  great  astonishment. 

Dorian's  face  now  wore  a  pained  expression.  He 
had  always  been  profoundly  interested  in  Africa 
and  was  congratulating  himself  on  the  opportunity 
now  offered  to  convert  the  proffered  kingdom  into 
an  enlightened  republic.  It  now  seemed  that  his 
own  interests  and  those  of  his  ancestral  home  were 
about  to  clash.  He  cannot  endure  the  thought  of 
putting  an  ocean  between  Morlene  and  himself. 
Nor  can  he  with  equanimity  think  of  allowing  Af- 
rica to  remain  in  her  existing  condition. 

"  When  am  I  expected  to  go  to  Africa?"  enquired 
Dorian  in  serious  tones. 

"  You  may  not  have  to  come  at  all,  and  yet  serve 
our  purpose." 

"  How  so?"  asked  Dorian,  arising  and  drawing 
near  to  Kumi. 

The  latter  began  :  "  We  Africans  are  engaged  in 
a  sociological  investigation  of  many  questions.  We 
are  seeking  to  know  definitely  what  part  the  cli- 
mate, the  surface,  the  flora  and  the  fauna  have 
played  in  keeping  us  in  civilization's  back  yard. 
Huxley  thinks  that  our  woolly  hair  and  black  skins 
came  to  us  only  after  our  race  took  up  its  abode  in 
Africa.  He  holds  that  it  was  nature's  contribution 
to  render  us  immune  from  the  yellow  fever  germs 
so  abundant  in  swampy  regions. 


"He  thinks  that  those  of  our  race  who  did  not  take 
on  a  dark  hue  and  woolly  texture  of  hair  were  the 
less  adapted  to  life  in  the  tropics  and  eventually 
died  out,  leaving  those  that  were  better  adjusted  to 
survive. 

"  He  thinks  that  these  beneficial  modifications 
were  preserved  and  transmitted  with  increasing 
strength  from  generation  to  generation  until  our 
hue  and  our  hair  or  the  physical  attributes  for 
which  they  stand  rendered  us  immune  from  yellow 
fever.  I  may  add  that  Livingstone  says  of  us, 
'  Heat  alone  does  not  produce  blackness  of  skin, 
but  heat  with  moisture  seems  to  insure  the  deepest 
hue.' 

"  Now,  nature,  in  thus  protecting  us  against  yel- 
low fever,  by  changing  our  color  from  the  original, 
whatever  it  was,  has  painted  upon  us  a  sign  that 
causes  some  races  to  think  that  there  is  a  greater 
difference  between  us  and  them  than  there  really  is. 
So  much  for  our  color  and  the  ills  that  it  has  en- 
tailed." 

Dorian  interrupted  Kumi  to  remark  very  feel- 
ingly : 

"  I  am  truly  glad  that  you  are  not  inoculated 
with  that  utterly  nonsensical  view  to  be  met  with 
in  this  country,  which  represents  that  the  Negro's 
color  is  the  result  of  a  curse  pronounced  by  Noah 
upon  his  recovery  from  a  drunken  stupor.  Please 
proceed." 


UNFETTERED.  167 

Kumi  resumed  his  remarks.  u  Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer  holds  that  our  comparative  lack  of  energy 
is  due  to  heat  and  moisture.  He  states  that  'the 
earliest  recorded  civilization  grew  up  in  a  hot  and 
dry  region — Egypt ;  and  in  hot  and  dry  regions 
also  arose  the  Babylonian,  Assyrian  and  Phoeni- 
cian civilizations.'  He  points  out  that  all  'the 
conquering  races  of  the  world  have  hailed  from 
within  or  from  the  borders  of  the  hot  and  dry  re- 
gion marked  on  the  rain  map  '  rainless  districts,' 
and  extending  across  North  Africa,  Arabia,  Persia 
and  on  through  Thibet  into  Mongolia.' 

"  He,  therefore,  would  ascribe  our  backwardness 
principally  to  a  woful  lack  of  energy,  a  condition 
brought  on  by  our  hot  and  moist  climate. 

"When  our  investigation  of  these  questions  is 
complete,"  continued  Kumi,  "we  will  know  just 
what  has  brought  us  where  we  are  and  can  deter- 
mine whether  artificial  appliances  sufficient  to 
counteract  existing  influences  can  be  discovered 
and  instituted. 

"  Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd  seems  to  think  that  the 
tropics  can  never  develop  the  highest  type  of  civ- 
ilization. In  the  event  that  the  government  of  the 
tropics  is  to  be  conducted  from  the  temperate  zones, 
we  tropical  people  will  desire  Negroes  to  remain  in 
the  temperate  zones,  to  advocate  such  policies  and 
form  such  alliances  as  shall  be  for  our  highest  good. 

"So,  it  may  turn  out  to  be  the  best  for  you,  our 
king,  to  remain  here,  for  our  welfare,  owing  to  our 


i 68  UNFETTERED. 

peculiar  environments,  depends,  just  now,  as 
much  upon  what  others  think  of  us  as  upon  what 
we  ourselves  may  do.  The  question  of  your  go- 
ing to  Africa  is  not,  therefore,  a  pressing  one,  yet." 

"  That  leaves  me  somewhat  free  to  deal  with  a 
question  that  is  pressing,  and  pressing  hard,"  said 
Dorian,  clasping  Kumi's  hand  in  joy,  now  that  the 
way  was  clear  for  him  to  serve  without  conflict  his 
own  heart  and  the  home  of  his  fathers. 

Kumi  looked  at  Dorian  puzzled  as  to  what  ques- 
tion it  was  that  was  pressing  for  a  settlement. 
Dorian  did  not  enlighten  him  on  the  subject,  how- 
ever. 

But  we  know,  do  we  not,  dear  reader  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

GOING  FORTH   TO  UNFETTER. 

Morlene  was  yet  wearing  mourning  for  Harry, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  Dorian  was  forced  to  de- 
lay the  inauguration  of  his  suit.  If  you  think 
that  this  procedure,  or  rather  non-procedure,  was  to 
his  liking,  but  ask  the  stars  unto  whom  his  heart 
so  often  entrusted  its  secrets ;  ask  the  wee  small 
hours  of  the  night  who  saw  him  restless,  times 
without  number. 

Somehow  his  business  seemed  to  require  him  to 
pass  Morlene's  house  rather  often ;  and  yet  the 
business  could  not  have  been  so  very  urgent,  in 
that  he  found  so  much  time  to  spare,  talking  to 
Morlene  in  an  informal  way  at  her  gate.  And,  to 
go  further,  if  the  truth  must  out,  Morlene's  pres- 
ence at  that  gate  at  Dorian's  time  of  passing  did 
happen, we  must  admit,  rather  often  to  be  placed  in 
the  category  with  usual  accidental  occurrences. 

Now  and  then,  at  rare  intervals,  Dorian  would 
pay  Morlene  a  call  on  some  matter  of  business,  he 
would  say.  On  those  occasions  it  was  interesting 
to  note  how  quickly  the  business  matter  was  dis- 
posed of — in  fact,  was  so  of  ten  actually  forgotten  by 
Dorian  and,  it  must  be  confessed,  by  Morlene,  too. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  to  be  plain,  these  two 

(1(59) 


I7O  UNFETTERED. 

individuals  had  discovered  that  their  souls  were  con- 
genial spirits,  each  seeming  to  need  the  other,  if  it 
would  have  a  sense  of  completeness.  Now,  this 
was  the  latent  Dorian  and  the  latent  Morlene,  the 
apparent  Dorian  and  the  apparent  Morlene  co-oper- 
ating with  society  in  its  policy  of  adding  to  the 
duration  of  the  marriage  vow,  which  reads  until 
death,  but  which  has  been  stretched  by  society  to 
an  indefinite  period  thereafter.  This  discovery  of  a 
bond  of  affinity,  we  say,  was  purely  the  work  of  the 
latent  Dorian  and  the  latent  Morlene,  for  were  not 
those  two  members  of  society  abstaining  from  all 
mention  of  the  regard,  the  deep  regard,  the  bound- 
less  excuse  us,  the  period  of  mourning  has  not 

passed. 

One  day  Dorian  discovered  by  consulting  his 
memorandum  that  about  the  usual  time  between 
those  business  (?)  propositions  had  elapsed  and  he 
searched  his  mind  for  a  plausible  excuse  for  making 
a  call. 

When  Dorian  arrived  at  Morlene's  home  that 
night,  imagine  his  feelings  when  he  saw  on  enter- 
ing the  parlor  that  she  had  at  last  laid  aside  her 
mourning  attire.  The  thought  that  she  was  now 
approachable  set  his  soul  ablaze. 

What  Dorian  took  to  be  the  most  wicked  of  all 
demons,  seemed  to  say  to  him,  "  Don't  declare  your- 
self on  this  the  very  first  occasion.  Those  gate 
talks  and  business  visits  are  not  supposed  to  have 
been  acts  of  courtship,  remember." 


UNFETTERED. 

"Will  you  please  leave  me?"  whispered  Dor- 
ian's soul  to  the  imaginary  grinning  demon  that 
made  the  suggestion. 

Utterly  repudiating  all  thought  of  further  delay, 
Dorian  drew  close  to  Morlene.  She  saw  the  love 
signals  in  Dorian's  eyes.  Rather  than  have  her 
soul  flash  back  replies,  she  inclined  her  head  for- 
ward and  looking  down,  clutched  the  table  near 
which  she  stood. 

" Morlene,"  said  Dorian,  "I  really  believe  that 
my  heart  will  burst  if  I  do  not  let  out  its  secret. 
Morlene,  I  love  you.  But  you  know  that  and  you 
know  how  well.  You  have  read  this  and  more,  too, 
in  my  countenance.  Will  you  be  my  wife?" 

Those  words  spoken  into  Morlene's  ear  at  close 
range  were  elixir  unto  her  soul.  Looking  up  into 
Dorian's  face,  her  eyes  told  of  love,  deep,  bound- 
less. This  Dorian  saw.  But  he  saw  more  than 
love.  He  saw  despair  written  so  legibly  upon  that 
sweet  face  that  it  could  not  be  misunderstood  and 
would  not  be  ignored. 

"  Come,"  said  Dorian,  leading  Morlene  to  a  seat. 
Sitting  down  by  her  side  and  taking  one  of  her 
lovely  hands  in  his,  he  said  in  tones  charged  with 
deepest  emotion  : 

"Tell  me,  dear  girl,  that  you  will  be  my  wife. 
May  I,  poor  worm  of  the  dust,  be  allowed  to  call 
you  my  own?"  plead  Dorian,  bestowing  on  Mor- 
lene that  peculiar  look  born  of  love  stirred  to  its 
depths  by  anxiety. 


1 72  UNFETTERED. 

"  I  do  not  know,  Mr.  Warthell,  I  do   not  knew. 

It » 

"Do  not  know,"  gasped  Dorian,  dropping  the 
hand  tenderly.  "  My  God  !  she  does  not  know  !" 
he  groaned. 

"  Wait  but  a  second,  and  all  will  be  plain,"  said 
Morlene,  placing  a  hand  upon  Dorian's  arm  and 
looking  eagerly  into  his  grief-torn  face. 

"Wait  a  second,"  repeated  Dorian  mechanically. 
UA  second  in  moments  like  these  seems  akin  to  an 
eternity.  But  I  wait." 

"  Now,  Mr.  Warthell,  be  fair  to  yourself,"  said 
Morlene,  soothingly.  u  You  remarked  that  I  must 
have  read  some  things  in  your  countenance.  Re- 
member your  soul  has  an  eyesight,  and  you  have 
done  some  reading,  too."  Her  eyes  were  averted, 
her  tones  low,  her  speech  halting  as  she  made  this 
half-confession  to  Dorian's  eager  ears. 

Dorian,  who  had  been  feeling  more  like  an  arctic 
explorer  than  a  suitor  for  a  lady's  hand,  felt  his 
blood  running  warmer  from  the  effects  of  this 
morsel  of  cheer. 

"I  will  explain  to  you  what  it  is  that  I  do  not 
know,  Mr.  Warthell.  I  do  not  know  how  long  it 
will  be  before  conditions  in  the  South  will  warrant 
women  of  my  way  of  thinking  in  becoming  wives 
of  men  of  your  mould." 

"If,"  said  Dorian,  rising,  "consideration  of  this 
matter  is  to  be  postponed  until  my  environments 


UNFETTERED.  173 

enable  me  to  prove  myself  worthy  of  you,  my  doom 
is  certain.  For  the  most  benign  influences  of  earth 
have  not  produced  the  man  that  could  claim  your 
hand  on  the  ground  of  merit." 

"  Mr.  Warthellj  you  misapprehend.  A  second 
thought  would  have  told  you  not  to  place  a  con- 
struction on  my  remarks  that  causes  them  to 
savor  of  egotism  on  my  part.  It  is  far  from  me  to 
suggest  that  anything  is  needed  to  make  you  worthy 
of  any  woman.  To  the  contrary,  your  esteem  is  a 
tribute  than  which  there  is  nothing  higher,  so  I 
feel.  Now,  hear  me  calmly,"  said  Morlene. 

"  Not  until  I  have  purged  myself  of  contempt," 
said  Dorian,  deferentially. 

"  I  hold  that  egotism  is  inordinate  self-esteem, 
esteem  carried  beyond  what  is  deserved.  Under 
this  definition,  show  me,  please,  how  you  could 
manifest  egotism.  It  is  absolutely  unthinkable 
from  my  point  of  view." 

Morlene  waved  her  hand  deprecatingly,  told 
Dorian  to  be  seated  and  began  an  explanation  of 
the  peculiar  situation  in  which  they  found  them- 
selves. Dorian  was  calmer  now ;  he  realized  an 
undercurrent  of  love  in  all  that  Morlene  was  saying 
and  he  knew,  as  all  men  know,  that  love  will 
eventually  assert  itself.  So  he  bore  Morlene's  at- 
tempt to  tie  cords  about  her  affections,  much  in  the 
spirit  of  one  who  might  see  a  web  woven  across  the 
sky  for  the  feet  of  the  sun. 


174  UNFETTERED. 

Morlene  said  :  "  Mr.  Warthell,  to  my  mind  it  is 
the  function  of  the  wife  to  idealize  the  aims  of  a 
husband,  to  quicken  the  energies  that  would  flag, 
to  be  at  once  the  incentive  and  perennial  inspira- 
tion of  his  noble  achievements,  to  point  him  to  the 
stars  and  steady  his  hand  as  he  carves  his  name 
upon  the  skies.  In  the  South  the  Negro  wife  is 
robbed  of  this  holy  task.  We  are  being  taught 
in  certain  high  quarters  that  self-repression  is  the 
Negro's  chief est  virtue.  Our  bodies  are  free — 
they  no  longer  wear  the  chains,  but  our  spirits  are 
yet  in  fetters.  I  have  firmly  resolved,  Mr.  War- 
thell, to  accept  no  place  by  a  husband's  side  until  I 
can  say  to  his  spirit,  "  Go  forth  to  fill  the  earth 
with  goodness  and  glory." 

Morlene  paused  for  an  instant. 

"  Mr.  Warthell,  in  you  may  slumber  the  genius 
of  a  Pericles,  but  a  wife  in  the  South  dare  not  urge 
upon  you  to  become  a  town  constable  or  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  Talk  about  slavery  !  Ah  !  the  chains 
that  fetter  the  body  are  but  as  ropes  of  down  when 
compared  to  those  that  fetter  the  mind,  the  spirit  of 
man.  And  think  ye  I  would  enter  your  home  sim- 
ply to  inspire  that  great  soul  of  yours  to  restless- 
ness and  fruitless  tuggings  at  its  chains !  In  the 
day  when  a  Negro  has  a  man's  chance  in  the  race 
of  life,  I  will  let  my  heart  say  to  you,  Mr.  Warthell, 
all  that  it  wishes  to  say." 

Morlene  ceased  speaking  and  the  two  sat  long  in. 
Porlau  was  the  first  to  speafc. 


UNFETTERED.  175 

"  Morlene,  I  confess  I  am  a  slave.  My  neigh- 
bors, my  white  fellow  citizens,  have  formed  a  pen, 
have  drawn  a.  zigzag  line  about  me  and  told  me  that 
I  must  not  step  across  on  pain  of  death.  Having 
a  mind  as  other  men,  such  arbitrary  restrictions  are 
galling.  I  am  then  a  slave,  limited  not  by  my  ca- 
pacity to  feel  and  do,  but  by  the  color  of  my  skin. 
You  do  not  wish  to  marry  a  slave  ;  refuse  him  for 
his  own  good.  All  of  that  is  clear  to  me,  and  I 
chide  you  not.  Come !  There  are  lands  where  'a 
man's  color  places  no  restrictions  on  his  aspirations 
for  what  is  high  and  useful.  L,et  us  flee  thither  !" 

u  No,  no,  no,  Mr.  Warthell !  Let  us  not  flee.  At 
least,  not  yet.  Our  dignity  as  a  people  demands 
that  the  manhood  rights  of  the  race  be  recognized 
on  every  foot  of  soil  on  which  the  sun  sees  fit  to 
cast  his  rays." 

"Now,  Morlene,"  said  Dorian,  "you  as  good  as 
tell  me  that  you  will  never  be  my  wife.  Pray,  tell 
me,  why  am  I  so  rudely  tossed  about  upon  the 
bosom  of  life's  heaving  ocean  ?"  These  words  were; 
spoken  in  tones  of  utter  despair. 

"  I  have  not  said  that  I  would  not  be  your  wife, 
Dorian.  I  am  trying  every  day  I  live  to  devise  a 
solution  for  our  Southern  problem." 

"  She  called  me  Dorian,  she  called  me  Dorian,", 
said  he  to  himself,  rejoicing  inwardly  over  this  fresh 
burst  of  sunshine  just  as  his  gloom  was  deepening. 
Suddenly  his  face  showed  the  illurmnatipn  of  3 
great  hope, 


176  UNFETTERED. 

"  Morlene !  Morlene  !"  cried  Dorian,  in  a  rush  of 
enthusiasm,  "  Suppose  I,  Dorian  Warthell,  solve 
this  problem ;  suppose  I  unfetter  the  mind  of  the 
Negro  and  allow  it  full  scope  for  operation ;  sup- 
pose I  offer  lo  you  a  thoroughly  substantial  hope  of 

racial  regeneration,  will  you "  Here  Dorian 

paused  and  looked  lovingly  into  the  sweet  face  up- 
turned to  his.  "  If  I  do  these  things,"  he  resumed 
in  sober  tone,  "  will  you  be  my  wife  ?" 

uMr.  Warthell,  if  you  can  open  the  way  for  me 
to  really  be  your  wife,  there  is  nothing  in  my  heart 
that  bids  me  shrink  from  the  love  you  offer." 

Dorian's  mind  entertained  one  great  burst  of 
hope,  then  fled  at  once  to  the  great  race  problem  that 
had  hung  pall-like  over  the  heads  of  the  American 
people  for  so  many  generations,  and  now  stood  be- 
tween himself  and  Morlene.  A  sense  of  the  enor- 
mity of  the  task  that  he  had  undertaken  now  over- 
whelmed him.  Dorian  bowed  his  head,  the  follow- 
ing thoughts  coursing  through  his  agitated  mind : 
"  I  am  to  weld  two  heterogeneous  elements  into 
a  homogeneous  entity.  I  am  to  make  a  suc- 
cessful blend  of  two  races  that  differ  so  widely 
as  do  the  whites  and  the  Negroes.  Each  race 
has  manifested  its  racial  instincts,  and  has  shown 
us  .all,  that  wise  planning  must  take  account  of 
these.  The  problem  is  inherently  a  difficult  one 
and  of  a  highly  complex  nature.  But  with  an  in- 
centive such  as  I  have,  surely  it  can  be  solved. 


UNFETTERED.  177 

Thomas  Jefferson  and  Abraham  Lincoln  said  the 
problem  was  incapable  of  solution,  that  the  two 
races  could  not  live  together  on  terms  of  equality. 
They  were  great  and  wise,  but  not  infallible.  With 
Morlene  as  a  prize,  I  shall  prove  them  wrong." 
Morlene,  taking  advantage  of  his  abstraction,  be- 
stowed on  him  an  unreserved  look  of  pitying  love. 

Dorian  looked  up  suddenly  from  his  reverie,  and 
their  eyes  met  once  more.  There  was  no  reserve  now 
"and  Dorian's  joy  was  so  keen  that  it  seemed  to  pain 
him.  Arising  to  go,  he  said  :  u  I  go  from  you  con- 
secrating my  whole  power  to  the  task  before  me. 
Fortunate  it  is,  indeed,  for  the  South  that  she  has  at 
least  one  man  so  surrounded  that  he  cannot  be 
happy  himself  until  he  makes  this  wilderness  of 
woe  blossom  as  a  rose.  Farewell." 

Dorian  now  left  and  walked  slowly  toward  his 
home.  He  reflected,  "  I  will  have  no  business  at 
her  home  now  until  this  problem  is  solved.  Sup- 
pose I  do  not  solve  it." 

Dorian's  fears  began  to  assert  themselves.  "  I 
may  never,  never  see  that  face  again.  Think  of 
it !"  he  said.  This  thought  was  too  much  for  Dor- 
Ian.  He  paused,  leaned  upon  the  fence,  thrust  his 
Hat  back  from  his  fevered  brow.  He  turned  and 
retraced  his  steps  to  Morlene'' s  home.  She  met 
him  at  the  door  and  was  not  surprised  at  his  re- 
turn. Her  heart  was  craving  for  just  another  sight 


178  UNFETTERED. 

of  its  exiled  lord.  Re-entering  the  parlor,  they 
stood  facing  each  other. 

"  Morlene,"  said  Dorian,  "  I  have  come  to  ask  a 
boon  of  you.  I  can  labor  so  much  better  with  a  full 
assurance  of  your  love.  From  your  eyes,  from  your 
words,  I  say  humbly,  I  have  come  to  feel  that  you 
have  honored  me  with  that  love.  But  the  testi- 
mony is  incomplete.  Will  you  grant  unto  me  the 
one  remaining  assurance  ?  Will  you  seal  our  most 
holy  compact  with  a  kiss  ?" 

Morlene's  lips  parted  not,  but  she  attempted  an 
answer,  nevertheless.  Her  queenlike  head  was 
shaking  negatively,  saying,  "  Please  do  not  require 
that."  But  those  telltale  eyes  were  saying,  "  Why, 
young  man  the  whole  matter  rests  with  you." 
Morlene  was  conscious  that  her  eyes  were  contra- 
dicting the  negative  answer  that  her  head  was  giv- 
ing. To  punish  the  two  beautiful  traitors  she 
turned  them  away  from  Dorian  and  made  them  look 
at  the  carpet.  Morlene  in  this  attitude  was  so  ex- 
quisitely beautiful  that  Dorian  was  powerless  to  re- 
sist the  impulse  that  made  him  take  her  into  his 
arms. 

One  rapturous  kiss,  and  Dorian  was  gone  ! 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

TONY  MARSHALL. 

Tony  Marshall  was  one  of  the  Negroes  of  the 
younger  class  who  had  left  the  country  district  and 

had  come  to  R as  a  result  of  the  imbroglio 

between  L,emuel  Dalton  and  Harry  Dalton.  He 
had  come  to  the  city  with  the  untried  innocence  of 
country  life,  sober,  industrious  and  frugal,  accepta- 
ble as  a  wholesome  infusion  into  Negro  life  in  the 
city,  which,  so  far  as  the  masses  were  concerned, 
stood  sadly  in  need  thereof.  Without  much  dim\ 
culty  he  had  secured  work  as  a  porter  in  a  hard- 
ware store.  After  a  few  years'  sojourn  in  the  city, 
he  had  fallen  in  love  and  married. 

Among  the  Negroes  of  R Mrs.  Tony  Mar- 
shall was  variously  designated  as  "  a  good  looking 
woman,"  "a  fine  looking  woman,"  and  among  the 
older  ones  as  "a  likely  gal;"  and  she  richly  deserved 
these  encomiums  passed  on  her  personal  appear- 
ance. She  was  not  a  small  woman,  nor  yet  could 
you  call  her  large.  Her  form,  while  not  delicate- 
ly chiseled,  presented  an  appearance  that  seemed 
to  be  a  satisfactory  compromise  between  beauty  and 
strength,  each  struggling  to  be  noted  in  this  one 
form.  Her  face  was  well  featured,  her  hazle  col- 
ored eyes  making  it  very  attractive.  As  to  com- 

(179) 


J  80  UNFETTERED. 

plexion,  she  was  dark,  quite  dark,  and  of  a  hue  so 
soft  and  attractive  therewith  that  her  complexion 
made  her  an  object  of  envy. 

Tony  Marshall  adored  his  wife,  and  it  was  his 
one  ambition  to  see  her  happy.  Everything  that 
he  did  was  with  a  view  to  her  comfort  and  happi- 
ness. On  the  meagre  wages  which  he  received  he 
had  not  been  able  to  provide  for  her  as  he  had  de- 
sired. 

Noticing  that  young  white  men  who  had  entered 
the  employ  of  the  hardware  company  after  his  com- 
ing and  knew  no  more  of  the  requirements  of  the 
business  than  he  did — noticing  that  these  had  sev- 
eral times~been  promoted,  Tony  Marshall  made  an 
application  for  an  increase  in  his  wages.  The  head 
of  the  firm  looked  at  him  in  astonishment.  It  was 
an  unwritten  and  inexorable  rule  in  that  and  in 
many  other  establishments  that  the  wages  of  Negro 
employes  were  to  remain  the  same  forever,  however 
efficient  the  labor  and  however  long  the  term  of 
service. 

Failing  of  promotion  where  he  was,  and  noting 
that  the  rate  of  one  dollar  per  day  prevailed  al- 
most universally,  Tony  Marshall  saw  no  relief  in 
changing  employment,  and  decided  to  increase  his 
own  wages  at  his  employers'  expense.  He  made  a 
comparison  between  the  salary  which  he  was  re- 
ceiving and  that  being  received  by  the  white  em- 
ployees who  did  work  similar  in  character  to  his.  He 
began,  therefore,  to  purloin  the  wares  of  the  com- 


UNFETTERED.  I  Si 

pany  and  dispose  of  them  at  various  pawn  shops. 
As  a  "sop"  to  his  conscience  he  stole  only  so  much 
as  sufficed  to  bring  his  wages  to  the  level  of  others 
who  did  work  like  his.  His  thefts  were  the  more 
easily  committed  because  he  had  won  the  unlimited 
confidence  of  his  employers. 

Tony  has  just  rented  a  more  commodious  house 
for  the  pleasure  of  his  wife,  and  as  his  rent  is  to  be 
increased,  he  is  pondering  how  to  further  increase 
his  income.  On  this  particular  morning  when  our 
story  finds  him,  he  is  debating  this  question  as  he 
walks  to  his  work.  At  last  he  concluded  to  steal 
that  day  a  very  fine  pistol  from  the  stock  under  his 
care,  which  theft  he  hoped  would  net  him  such  a 
nice  sum  that  he  could  suspend  pilfering  for  a  while. 
When  he  returned  home  that  evening  he  carried 
the  pistol  with  him,  and  hid  it  under  the  front  door- 
step, it  being  his  rule  to  not  allow  his  wife  to  know 
anything  of  his  misdoings ;  for  he  could  not  bear 
the  thought  of  forfeiting  her  respect. 

"  I  am  going  to  my  lodge  meeting  now ;  I  may 
not  return  until  very  late,"  said  Tony  that  night} 
as  he  kissed  his  wife  good-bye.  Instead  of  going 
to  the  lodge  meeting,  however,  Tony  Marshall  went 
to  the  section  of  the  city  where  were  congregated 

practically  all  of   the  vicious  Negroes  of  R . 

Entering  a  house,  the  front  room  of  which  was  the 
abode  of  an  aged  couple,  he  passed  to  the  rear 
through  a  hall  way.  Giving  the  proper  rap  at  a 


1 82  UNFETTERED. 

door,  he  was  admitted.  He  was  now  in  a  long  room 
well  crowded  with  Negro  men  and  many  women, 
who  sat  at  tables  engaged  in  various  kinds  of 
gaming. 

The  occupants  of  the  room  gazed  up  at  the 
newcomer,  quickly,  enquiringly,  but  seeing  that  it 
was  the  well  known  Tony,  their  attention  returned 
to  the  matters  before  them.  The  flapping  of  cards, 
the  rolling  of  dice,  outbursts  of  profanity,  the 
clinking  of  glasses  as  liquor  drinking  progressed, 
were  the  sounds  that  filled  the  room. 

Tony  found  room  at  a  dice  table  and  was  soon 
deeply  engaged  in  the  game.  At  a  late  hour  the 
accustomed  rap  was  heard  at  the  door  and  it  was 
opened.  Great  was  the  consternation  of  all  when 
the  newcomers  were  discovered  to  be  a  half  dozen 
policemen. 

The  inmates  of  the  gambling  house  saw  at  once 
that  some  frequenter  of  the  place  had  proven 
traitor  and  furnished  the  officers  with  information. 
They  were  all  placed  under  arrest  and  formed  into 
a  line  to  be  marched  to  the  city  jail.  The  Negroes 
had  submitted  with  such  good  grace  that  the  offi- 
cers felt  able  to  dispense  with  the  patrol  wagon, 
the  jail  being  near. 

Tony  Marshall's  thoughts  were  of  his  wife,  L,ula. 
She  was  of  a  highly  respectable  family  and  her 
mortification  would  be  boundless  should  she  know 
of  his  arrest  in  the  gambling  den  and  hear  of  his 


UNFETTERED.  183 

being  in  the  chain  gang  working  out  his  fine  on  the 
public  highways. 

Tony  Marshall  decided  to  escape  at  the  risk  of 
his  life.  The  gambling  fraternity  had  a  code  of 
signals  that  could  give  the  cue  to  the  proper  course 
to  be  pursued  under  any  given  circumstances. 
The  leader  of  the  gang  now  gave  three  coughs, 
which  meant,  "  Raise  a  row  among  yourselves." 
The  idea  was  to  get  up  a  fight  among  the  prison- 
ers and  while  the  officers  were  attempting  to  quell 
the  fight,  as  many  as  could  were  to  make  their  es- 
cape. It  was  the  rule  that  all  who  made  their  es- 
cape were  to  employ  lawyers  and  raise  money  to 
help  out  those  left  behind. 

A  group  began  quarreling  among  themselves,  and 
a  fight  soon  followed.  The  officers  interposed  to 
quell  the  disturbance  and  prisoners  broke  and  ran 
in  all  directions.  The  officers  found  that  they  had 
a  larger  number  than  they  could  well  manage  un- 
der the  circumstances,  and  they  gave  their  attention 
to  corralling  a  few,  letting  the  others  escape  in  the 
hope  of  tracing  them  out  and  re-arresting  them  on 
the  morrow. 

Among  those  that  escaped  was  Tony  Marshall. 
Running  by  his  home,  he  secured  the  stolen  pistol 
from  beneath  the  doorstep,  got  his  bicycle  from  the 
woodhouse  and  was  soon  speeding  out  of  the  city. 
He  chose  the  road  that  led  to  the  settlement  whence 
he  had  come  to  the  city.  It  was  his  intention  from 


184  UNFETTERED. 

that  point  to  write  to  his  wife,  telling  her  that  he 
had  received  a  most  urgent  call  to  see  his  aged 
mother  who  was  represented  to  him  to  be  dying. 

Throughout  the  night  Tony  rode  at  a  rapid  rate, 
putting  many  miles  between  himseu  and  the  city. 
About  daybreak,  as  he  was  speeding  along  on  his 
bicycle,  he  glanced  up  into  a  tree  and  saw  therein  a 
squirrel.  "Good  luck!"  said  he,  "there  is  my 
breakfast."  Jumping  from  his  bicycle,  he  got  on 
the  side  of  the  road  opposite  to  the  tree  that  held 
the  squirrel.  Elevating  his  pistol,  he  took  aim  and 
vas  upon  the  eve  of  pulling  the  trigger  when 
he  heard  the  clatter  of  the  hoofs  of  a  horse 
galloping  in  his  direction.  He  dropped  the 
pistol  to  his  side  and  peered  around  the  bend 
of  the  road  to  catch  sight  of  the  newcomer  on 
the  scene.  For  a  few  minutes  only  we  leave 
him  standing  thus  that  we  may  fully  acquaint 
you  with  the  newcomer,  that  the  horror  of  the 
meeting  between  the  two  may  not  come  as  too 
great  a  shock  to  you. 

"  But  how  is  the  waiting,  struggling,  hoping 
Dorian  concerned  in  all  of  this  ?"  the  reader  asks. 
That,  too,  in  due  time  will  be  apparent. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A  MORNING   RIDE. 

We  are  at  the  Dalton  house  once  more.  It  is  the 
night  on  which  we  followed  Tony  Marshall  to  the 
gambling  den,  which  we  saw  raided  by  the  officers  of 
the  law.  Under  the  window  of  Lemuel  Dalton's 
bed  room  a  dog  had  stationed  himself,  and  through- 
out the  night  uttered  long,  loud  and  piteous  howls. 

Lemuel  Dalton  professed  to  be  above  supersti- 
tion and  detested  that  in  the  Negroes  more  than  he 
did  anything  else,  perhaps.  While  professing  to 
the  contrary,  he  was  in  reality  superstitious  to  a 
marked  degree,  even  against  his  own  better  sense. 
This  semi-consciousness  of  the  presence  of  a  latent 
superstition  in  the  crevices  of  his  inner-self,  no  doubt 
served  to  intensify  his  antipathies  against  a  people 
who  had  thus  in  spite  of  himself  injected  supersti- 
tion into  him ;  for  he  blamed  the  Negroes  for  the 
prevalence  of  superstition  in  the  Southern  States. 
So  the  howling  of  this  homeless  dog  bothered 
Lemuel,  although  he  sought  to  assure  himself, 
over  and  over  again,  that  it  did  not.  He  had  arisen 
more  than  once  and  fired  his  pistol  out  of  the  win- 
dow in  order  to  stop  the  noise  of  the  dog.  The 
dog  would  quiet  down  for  a  brief  period  and  then 

(185) 


1 86  UNFETTERED. 

resume  his  canine  lamentations.  The  howling  of 
the  dog,  coupled  with  its  persistence,  produced  in 
Lemuel  Dalton  a  state  of  mind  bordering  on  terror. 
The  Negroes  held  that  the  howling  of  a  dog  be. 
neath  a  window  was  a  sure  sign  that  an  inmate 
of  the  house  was  soon  to  die. 

Arising  very  early  the  next  morning,  Lemuel 
Dalton  entered  his  library  and  took  a  seat.  He 
wheeled  his  chair  until  it  faced  the  east  window 
and,  tilting  back  in  it,  mechanically  twirled  his 
mustache,  a  look  of  deep  meditation  coming  over 
his  face.  "  Confound  the  people  who  first  brought 
the  Negroes  to  this  country,"  he  said.  He  was 
worried  that  he  could  not  shake  off  the  superstition 
as  to  death  following  the  howling  of  a  dog. 

In  the  midst  of  his  broodings  Lemuel  Dalton's 
pretty  little  wife  (for  he  is  married  now)  came  dash- 
ing into  the  room  attired  in  a  riding  habit.  Lem- 
uel Dalton  wheeled  around  to  meet  her  and  her 
quick  eye  caught  the  cloud  that  was  just  vanishing 
from  his  face. 

"  Lemuel,  my  dear,  what  on  earth  are  you  allow- 
ing to  trouble  you  ?"  she  said,  shaking  her  riding 
whip  at  him,  playfully,  while  her  eyes  were 
shining  with  the  love  that  she  cherished  for  him. 

"  I  may  tell  you  when  you  return  from  your 
morning  ride,"  he  said,  opening  his  arms  to  receive 
his  wife. 

"  You  naughty  lad,"  she  cried,  looking  into  his 
eyes  with.mock  earnestness.  "When  did  you  ever 


UNFETTERED.  I  §7 

hear  of  a  woman  consenting  to  wait  a  moment  to 
obtain  a  secret?  Tell  me  now  on  pain  of  being 
doomed  to  bear  this  burden,  my  humble  self,  in 
your  arms  for  ever." 

"The  very  penalty  that  you  affix  as  a  menace  is 
an  inducement  for  me  to  disobey.  I  resist  the 
temptation,  however,  and  tell  you  the  subject  of  my 
thoughts.  I  was  thinking  of  the  Negroes." 

A  shiver  ran  over  the  frame  of  Mrs.  Dalton  and 
the  cheerful  smile  died  out  of  her  face.  "  Lemuel, 
will  you  people  of  the  South  ever  be  rid  of  this 
eternal  nightmare?"  queried  Mrs.  Dalton,  looking 
up  into  Lemuel's  face. 

Lemuel  tenderly  stroked  her  beautiful  hair,  but 
did  not  essay  to  answer  her  question.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  was,  he  regarded  the  Negro  problem  as  grow- 
ing graver  and  more  complicated  as  time  wore  on. 
The  strenuous  efforts  of  the  Negro  to  rise  arid  the 
decrease  of  the  distance  between  the  two  races  he 
viewed  with  alarm.  He  did  not  care  to  communi- 
cate his  real  feelings  to  his  wife,  so  he  said  nothing. 

Mrs.  Dalton's  nature  was  of  a  light  and  volatile 
kind  and  she  thought  of  the  Negroes  only  for  an  in- 
stant. Wresting  herself  out  of  her  husband's  arms, 
she  skipped  out  of  the  room.  She  immediately  re- 
appeared at  the  door  of  the  library  and  threw  a  kiss 
at  Lemuel  in  girlish  fashion  and  was  soon  mounted 
and  riding  out  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  brisk  morn- 
ing air.  As  she  saunters  along,  we  may  learn  a  few 


188  UNFETTERED. 

points  in  her  history  that  bear  upon  the  case  unto 
which  events  are  leading.  She  was  born  and  reared 
in  a  section  of  the  State  of  Maine  where  no  Ne- 
groes whatever  live.  It  was  here  that  Lemuel  Dai- 
ton  found,  wooed,  and  wedded  her.  She  had  read 
from  time  to  time  of  the  crimes  of  brutal  Negroes 
and  the  summary  punishments  administered  to 
them,  and  she  had  rather  imperceptibly  grown  to  re- 
gard the  prevailing  race  type  of  the  Negroes  as  being 
criminal.  This  opinion  was  not  an  unnatural  out- 
growth of  the  newspaper  habit  of  giving  unlimited 
space  and  flaming  headlines  to  the  vicious  Negro, 
the  exotic,  while  the  many  millions  who  day  by 
day  went  uncomplainingly  to  their  daily  tasks  and 
wrought  worthily  for  the  country's  welfare,  re- 
ceived but  scant  attention. 

The  opinion  that  this  state  of  affairs  caused  Mrs. 
Dalton -to  imbibe,  was  the  further  fostered  by  the 
atmosphere  of  the  Dal  ton  house,  which  was  so  thor- 
oughly hostile  to  the  Negro.  The  whole  of  the 
Dalton  place  was  now  manned  by  white  help,  and 
Negroes  would  not  so  much  as  go  there  on  errands 
of  business.  It  was  from  such  a  home  and  under 
the  conditions  outlined  that  Mrs.  Dalton  went  forth 
for  her  morning  ride. 

It  was  the  noise  of  Mrs.  Dalton's  horse  that 
caused  Tony  Marshall  to  pause  in  his  attempt  to 
kill  the  squirrel. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THEY   FEAR   EACH   OTHER. 

As  Tony  peered  around  the  bend  in  the  road,  Mrs. 
Dalton  caught  sight  of  him  and  uttered  a  piercing 
scream.  Tony  knew  the  horse  to  be  that  of  I/em- 
uel  Dalton  and  he  perceived  at  once  that  the  situa- 
tion was  full  of  danger  for  him,  as  the  uninten- 
tional frightening  of  white  women  in  the  South 
had  furnished  more  than  one  victim  for  the  mob. 
Knowing  so  well  the  feelings  of  Lemuel  Dalton 
toward  Negroes,  he  reasoned  that  if  the  white 
woman  who  had  become  frightened  at  him,  re- 
turned to  the  house  and  reported  that  she  had  come 
upon  a  Negro  with  a  drawn  pistol,  public  opinion 
among  the  whites  would  at  once  adjudge  him  guilty 
of  harboring  a  purpose  of  committing  a  dastardly 
crime  against  woman's  honor.  He  knew  that  a 
strong  suspicion  to  this  effect  meant  instant  and 
violent  deatu  to  the  party  suspected.  He  was  de- 
termined to  see  to  it  that  the  woman  did  not  leave 
him  in  a  disturbed  frame  of  mind.  Rushing  for- 
ward, he  grasped  the  horse's  bridle.  This  all  the 
more  frightened  and  excited  Mrs.  Dalton. 

"  L<ady,"  said  Tony,  fear  in  every  lineament  of 

(189) 


190  UNFETTERED. 

his  face ;"  Lady,"  he  repeated,  in  anxious  tones} 
"don't  be  afraid.  I  ani  not  going  to  harm  you." 

Mrs.  Dal  ton  instinctively  looked  down  at  the  pis- 
tol, which  seemed  to  be  a  contradiction  to  his 
words. 

Seeing  the  look  and  interpreting  it,  Tony  said, 
"  There,  I  have  thrown  it  away,"  accompanying 
his  words  with  the  casting  of  the  pistol  by  the 
roadside. 

Mrs.  Dalton  yet  said  nothing,  her  eye  following 
the  pistol.  She  noted  that  Tony  had  not  thrown 
it  very  far  away. 

Tony,  who  was  studying  her  countenance  with  a 
full  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  his  life  depended 
upon  the  outcome  of  the  interview,  read  her  im- 
pression that  the  casting  aside  of  the  pistol  was 
but  a  ruse.  "  Lady,"  said  Tony,  "  I  have  caught 
hold  of  your  horse  to  keep  you  from  going  away 
from  me  frightened,  for  the  white  people  will  kill 
me  on  a  mere  suspicion  of  wrong  intention  on  my 
part.  I  am  harmless.  I  used  to  live  out  here." 

This  last  remark  increased  Mrs.  Dalton's  agita- 
tion. She  had  heard  of  Harry  Dalton,  knew  noth- 
ing of  his  death  and  feared  that  this  was  he,  re- 
turning for  vengeance. 

"  I  got  into  trouble  in  the  city  and  am  running 
away.  That's  how  I  am  out  here  so  early." 

"  Oh,  he  is  a  criminal,"  said  Mrs.  Dalton,  ex- 
citedly." 


UNFETTERED.  191 

Tony  saw  that  talking  did  not  better  his  case,  so 
he  stopped.  He  bowed  his  head  to  meditate. 

Mrs.  Dalton  thought  that  he  was  planning  an 
attack,  and  her  agitation  was  increasing  every  sec- 
ond. 

"  Plague  on  it !"  said  Tony.  "  I  am  in  a  pretty 
fix.  I'll  swear  I  wish  those  (  cops  '  had  me  safe  in 
prison.  I  have  swapped  the  witch  for  the  devil." 

Addressing  Mrs.  Dalton  he  said:  "Well,  lady, 
I'll  let  you  go  and  take  my  chances." 

As  soon  as  Tony  turned  loose  the  bridle  Mrs. 
Dalton  gave  whip  to  her  horse,  intending  to  flee  as 
fast  as  the  speed  of  the  animal  would  permit.  Tony 
saw  that  his  action  in  turning  the  horse  loose  had 
not  inspired  confidence  in  the  woman  and  that  she 
was  leaving  him  fully  impressed  that  his  purposes 
were  evil.  He  now  decided  to  take  advantage  of 
every  circumstance  that  he  could  to  save  his  life. 

Seizing  his  pistol,  he  ran  forward  and  fired,  in- 
tending to  kill  the  horse  and  thus  have  a 
better  chance  to  escape  before  the  woman  could 
reach  her  home  and  start  others  in  pursuit. 
At  his  second  shot  the  horse  reared  and  Mrs.  Dal- 
ton fell  off  to  the  ground.  The  horse  also  fell, 
a  part  of  his  huge  frame  falling  upon  and  crush- 
ing her  prostrate  form. 

When  Tony  Marshall  saw  what  he  had  done,  he 
turned  to  flee.  Proceeding  a  short  distance,  he 
halted.  "  I  must  go  back  to  find  out  whether  the 
woman  is  dead,"  he  said.  He  therefore  turned  and 


UNFETTERED. 


walked  in  a  timorous  manner  toward  the  fallen 
woman.  "Some  one  may  have  heard  the  shot  and 
may  be  hurrying  here,"  he  thought,  and  halted 
again,  casting  furtive  glances  first  up  and  then 
down  the  road.  "What,  oh,  what  have  I  done  to  be 
in  such  a  fix  !"  he  exclaimed  in  terror. 

Continuing  to  look  about  him  fearfully,  Tony 
approached  the  spot  where  the  horse  and  the  woman 
lay.  By  dint  of  hard  labor,  he  succeeded  in  remov- 
ing that  portion  of  the  horse  that  lay  upon  her. 
He  was  overjoyed  to  find  from  her  pulse  that  she 
was  still  alive.  "  What  must  I  do  next,"  he  said. 
He  sat  down  to  meditate.  "  I  haven't  yet  mur- 
dered anybody  and  I  shall  not  let  this  woman  die 
if  I  can  help  it,"  he  said  with  determination. 

Tony  arose  and,  going  to  Mrs.  Dalton,  lifted  her 
in  his  arms  and  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  her 
home.  After  many  pauses  by  the  wayside  for  rest, 
he  at  last  reached  the  Dalton  estate.  Through  the 
window  of  his  library,  Lemuel  Dalton  saw  his  wife 
being  brought  home  to  him  in  an  apparently  life- 
less condition.  At  once  Morlene's  prophecy  came 
back  to  him.  Raising  the  window  and  leaping 
out,  he  rushed  to  meet  Tony  and  gathered  his  wife 
in  his  arms. 

"Eulalie!  Eulalie  !  Oh!  Eulalie  !"  he  cried. 
"Speak  to  me,  beloved." 

"  Lemuel,"  she  murmured,  as  she  looked  at  him 
out  of  half  opened  eyes. 


UNFETTERED.  193 

"  Thank  God  !  Oh  !  Thank  God,  she  lives,"  he 
exclaimed,  bearing  his  wife  rapidly  yet  tenderly  to 
her  bedroom. 

The  family  physician  was  summoned  and  he 
hastened  to  the  bedside  with  all  possible  speed. 
Only  a  slight  examination,  however,  was  needed 
to  disclose  the  fact  that  human  skill  would  be  of 
no  avail. 


CHAPTER  XX VIII. 

"O  DEATH,  WHERE  IS  THY  STING?" 

Dorian  had  just  drawn  down  the  curtains  to 
the  windows  of  his  room,  thus  bringing  to  a  close 
the  contest  that  the  artificial  light  of  the  room 
was  waging  with  the  fading  twilight,  the  last 
feeble  protest  of  the  sun,  for  that  day  deposed.  He 
was  standing  before  his  desk  which  was  strewn 
with  books,  pamphlets  and  newspaper  clippings, 
bearing  on  the  subject  engaging  his  attention, 
when  suddenly  his  door  was  thrust  open. 

Quickly  turning  to  learn  who  his  unceremonious 
visitor  was,  Dorian  saw  the  Hon.  Hezekiah  T. 
Bloodworth  standing  in  the  doorway  pointing  a 
pistol  toward  him.  The  pistol  hand  swayed  to 
and  fro,  signifying  the  unsteadiness  of  a  drunken 
man,  while  Bloodworth's  bloated  face  and  reddened 
eyes  emphasized  the  fact  of  his  debauchery. 

"Oh — hie — yes — hie — I've  got — hic-hic-hic  yoti- 
hic.  I'll — hie — kill — hie — hie — you — hie,"  stam- 
mered Bloodworth,  attempting  to  impart  force 
enough  to  his  unsteady  fingers  to  pull  the  trigger 
of  the  pistol. 

Dorian  started  in  the  direction  of  the  drunken 

man  intending  to  disarm  him.     Just  then  some  one 
(194) 


UNFETTERED.  195 

implanted  a  blow  upon  the  base  of  Bloodworth's 
skull,  which  sent  that  gentleman  to  the  floor  in  a 
sprawling  attitude.  The  pistol  which  was  in 
Bloodworth's  hand  exploded  upon  striking  the 
floor,  but  no  serious  damage  resulted. 

A  tall,  somewhat  slender  white  man  had  deliv- 
ered the  blow.  This  stranger  now  forced  Blood- 
Worth  to  rise  and  accompany  him  down  the  stairs. 
Bloodworth  whined  after  the  manner  of  a  child,  as 
he  staggered  along.  The  stranger  hailed  a  passing 
policeman  and  handed  Bloodworth  over  to  him.  He 
then  leturned  to  Dorian's  room.  As  he  entered, 
Dorian  was  struck  with  the  look  of  sorrow  so  legi- 
bly written  in  the  face  of  the  man.  Such  utter 
woe  Dorian  had  never  before  seen  depicted  in  a 
human  countenance.  The  man,  though  invited  to 
sit  down,  declined  to  do  so. 

Looking  Dorian  in  the  face,  the  stranger  said, 
"My  name  is  Lemuel  Dalton.  I  perceive  that  you 
glean  from  my  countenance  that  fate  has  hurled 
its  harpoon  into  my  soul."  Lemuel  Dalton's  frame 
shook  as  a  tempest  of  emotions  swept  through  him. 
"My  wife,"  he  continued,  "  the  most  beautiful,  the 
most  angelic,  the  most  beloved  woman  of  earth,  has 
been  needlessly  slain." 

Dorian  was  listening  with  absorbing  interest  and 
evident  sympathy. 

"Circumstances  killed  my  wife,  sir.  Circum- 
stances— cold,  cruel,  circumstances."  Lemuel  Dal- 


196  UNFETTERED. 

ton  paused  as  though  desiring  to  give  his  words 
ample  opportunity  to  convey  their  awful  message. 
u  It  was  on  this  wise,"  he  resumed.  "  She  met  a 
Negro  who  was  fleeing  from  justice.  She  had 
heard  so  much  of  late  of  the  crimes  of  Negroes 
against  white  women  that  she  was  terribly  fright, 
ened  by  the  mere  fact  of  seeing  this  Negro.  The 
Negro  was  frightened  over  the  consequences  likely 
to  ensue  as  a  result  of  her  fright;  He  sought  to 
reassure  her.  She  mistrusted  him  the  more.  To 
keep  her  from  reaching  me  in  time  to  institute  a 
successful  pursuit,  the  Negro  killed  the  horse  that 
she  was  riding.  The  horse  in  falling  caught  my 
wife  partially  under  his  huge  frame.  She  was  fa- 
tally injured." 

Lemuel  Dalton  now  turned  away  from  Dorian 
to  hide  the  tears  that  had  gathered  in  his  eyes. 
"She  died,"  said  he,  in  broken  tones.  "  On  her 
dying  bed  she  begged  me  to  not  prosecute  the 
Negro  on  the  charge  of  murder.  In  her  last 
moments  she  said  to  me,  *  Lemuel,  good  bye.  Save 
other  homes  from  a  like  fate.  Dispel  this  atmos- 
phere of  suspicion  in  which  I  have  been  stifled 
unto  my  death.'  I  have  obeyed  her  request  with 
regard  to  the  Negro.  A  careful  investigation  dem- 
onstrated that  he  had  told  my  wife  and  me  the 
truth  in  every  detail.  He  is  now  in  prison  serving 
his  sentence  for  the  offenses  committed  prior  to  his 
chance  meeting  with  my  wife," 


197 

Pointing  his  finger  at  Dorian  he  raised  his  trem- 
ulous voice  and  said  in  ringing  tones,  "  Do  you 
realize,  sir,  that  the  social  fabric  of  which  you  are 
a  part,  furnished  the  viper  that  has  stung  me  in  a 
vital  spot?  Where,  sir,  are  your  churches,  your 
school  rooms,  all  of  your  influences  that  are  sup- 
posed to  produce  worthy  beings  ?"  Lemuel  Dai- 
ton's  manner  was  so  frantic  that  Dorian  began  to 
feel  that  he  was  dangerously  near  insanity. 

Lemuel  Dalton  divined  the  thought  that  was 
passing  through  Dorian's  mind  and  answered  it, 
lowering  his  voice  as  he  did  so.  "Oh,  no  !  I  am 
not  at  all  unbalanced.  To  show  you  that  I  am  not 
I  shall  answer  my  own  question.  You  Negroes 
need  more  from  us  Southern  whites  than  a  feeling 
of  indifference,  or  a  spirit  of  c  make  it  if  you  can.' 
I  have  come  to  learn  at  so  sad  a  cost  that  the  safety 
and  happiness  of  my  race  is  inexorably  bound  up 
with  the  virtue  and  well-being  of  your  race."  The 
look  of  intensity  now  faded  from  his  face ;  a  sort 
of  vacant  expression  appeared. 

As  though  listlessly  looking  at  something  in  the 
distance,  he  said,  half  musingly,  "  Morlene  Dalton 
sent  me  to  you.  I  went  to  her  because  she  told  me 
years  ago  that  I  would  come  to  this.  I  am  here 
to-night  to  offer  my  help  to  your  race,  and  to  ask 
what  you  all  desire  of  me."  He  spoke  slowly  and 
in  solemn  tones. 

"  But,  hold !  before  you  speak,   let  me  tell  you 


198  UNFETTERED. 

that  about  me  which  is  subject  to  no  compro- 
mise," he  burst  forth  excitedly.  Said  he:  "I 
am  an  exclusive ;  I  want  no  mixture  of  blood? 
thought  or  activities  with  the  Negro  race.  I  want 
this  white  race  to  keep  on  manifesting  its  true  in- 
wardness to  the  woild.  I  wish  our  whole  civiliza- 
tion to  be  permeated  with  our  own  peculiar  fra- 
grance and  that  only.  Whatever  I  can  do  for 
your  people  without  jeopardy  to  this  conception  I 
stand  ready  to  do.  True,  this  means  that  I  desire 
you  to  be  an  alien  in  our  midst.  But  my  present 
position  is  an  improvement  on  my  former,  in  that  I 
am  now  willing  to  do  all  that  can  be  done  to  make 
this  alien,  happy,  prosperous  and  virtuous ;  but  an 
alien  ever,  remember.  Will  you  kindly  point  out 
to  a  white  man  standing  on  this  platform  what  he 
may  consistently  do  for  the  Negro  ?  " 

Lemuel  Dalton  ceased  speaking  and  now  sat  in 
the  chair  which  he  had  previously  refused. 

"  I  am  grieved,  profoundly  grieved  that  your 
wife,  who  may  be  the  prototype  of  hundreds,  has 
been  drawn  into  the  awful  vortex  of  this  race 
trouble." 

Lemuel  Dalton  arose  from  his  seat  and  with 
glaring  eyes  looked  down  upon  Dorian  intently. 

Again  the  impression  came  to  Dorian  that  he 
was  dealing  with  a  mad  man,  and  he  began  to  pon- 
der a  line  of  action  based  on  that  thought. 

"  Tut,  tut,  you  persist  in  thinking  I  am  crazy/ 


UNFETTERED.  199 

said  Lemuel  Dal  ton,  again  guessing  Dorian's 
thoughts  and  bringing  his  will  to  bear  to  cause  a 
more  calm  expression  to  appear  on  his  (Lemuel's) 
face. 

Drawing  near  to  Dorian,  he  said  :  "'I  came  to 
discuss  the  race  question  with  you,  but  I  am  in  no 
mood  for  that."  He  paused  for  an  instant.  Re- 
suming in  a  lower  tone  of  voice,  he  said,  slowly^ 
"You  colored  folks  believe  in  God.  I  don't."  Again 
he  paused.  "  That  is,  I  didn't.  But  the  morning 
Eulalie,  my  wife,  was  brought  home  wounded,  I 
called  God's  name  for  the  first  time  since  my  early 
childhood."  Here  he  paused  again. 

"Eulalie  was  a  Christian,"  he  said,  looking 
into  Dorian's  face  piercingly.  "  Tell  me  the 
truth.  Do  you,  do  you,"  he  asked  falteringly, 
"Do  you  think  that — "  here  a  pause— "I  shall 
meet — Eulalie  again  ?  "  The  last  words  were  ut- 
tered in  a  loud  screeching  voice.  Without  waiting 
for  an  answer  Lemuel  Dalton  turned  away  to  hide 
his  fast  falling  tears.  Out  of  the  room  he  walked, 
out  into  the  darkness  he  went,  alternately  implor- 
ing and  cursing  the  great  force,  whatever  it  might 
be,  that  was  operating  through  all  creation,  and 
had  suffered  so  terrible  a  load  to  fall  upon  his 
shoulders. 

As  for  Dorian,  he  sat  far  into  the  night  musing 
on  the  occurrences  of  the  evening.  "  To-night  I 
have  been  confronted  with  an  epitome  of  the  situ- 


200  UNFETTERED. 

ation  of  the  Negro  in  this  country,"  he 
u  One  white  man  comes  who  is  angry  because  I 
will  not  be  his  tool.  Then  follows  the  exclusive, 
who  feels  that  my  touch  is  contaminating.  Truly 
the  Negro  is  between  the  upper  and  the  nether 
millstones. 

"Ah,  Morlene  what  a  task  you  have  assigned 
unto  this  pilot,  called  by  you  to  guide  the  bark  of 
the  Negro  over  this  perilous  sea.  As  I  take  my 
post,  happy  am  I,  that  in  my  love  of  humanity  I  find 
my  chart ;  in  my  love  for  my  race  I  have  a  com- 
pass; and  in  my  love  for  you  I  have  a  lighthouse 
on  the  shore. 

"  Shine  on,  sweet  soul,  that  I  may  pilot  this  ves- 
sel through  the  breakers,  above  whose  hidden 
heads  the  waves  are  ever  chanting  the  solemn  song 
of  death." 

Happy  was  Dorian  in  this  hour  that  his  inherited 
riches  would  enable  him  to  conquer  ills  which  the 
poverty  of  the  race  had  hitherto  rendered  insur- 
mountable. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

IN  THE  BALANCES. 

At  last  the  day  came  on  which  Dorian  was  to 
submit  his  plan  to  Morlene. 

He  arose  early  that  morning,  packed  his  trunk, 
boxed  up  his  most  important  papers  and  wrote 
out  instructions  as  to  the  disposition  to  be 
made  of  his  other  possessions.  These  prepara- 
tions completed,  he  walked  down  town  to  the 
post  office  and  sent  his  plan  to  Morlene  as  reg- 
istered matter.  Having  done  this,  Dorian  returned 
to  his  boarding  place  and  bade  all  a  sorrowful 
good-bye,  stating  that  a  great  deal  of  uncertainty 
was  attendant  upon  his  journey,  and  that  he 

knew  not  whether  he  would  ever  return  to  R . 

Going  down  to  the  depot,  he  was  soon  aboard 
a  train  speeding  away. 

In  the  meanwhile  Morlene  had  received  the  doc- 
uments sent  to  her.  In  addition  to  the  plan,  Dor- 
Ian  had  sent  a  personal  letter,  on  the  envelope  of 
which  were  written  these  words,  "  Please  do  not 
read  the  enclosed  letter  until  you  have  read  and 
passed  upon  the  plan."  Morlene  lifted  the  envel- 
ope to  her  lips,  kissed  it,  and  laid  it  away,  intend- 

(201) 


UNFETTERED. 

ing  to  read  the  letter  after  her  study  of  the  plan, 
in  keeping  with  Dorian's  wishes. 

Morlene  was  deeply  conscious  as  to  how  much 
depended  upon  her  verdict  on  Dorian's  plan.  Her 
own  and  the  happiness  of  Dorian  were  involved. 
The  suffering,  restless  Negroes  were  to  be  of- 
fered a  panacea  and  she  was  their  representative  to 
accept  or  reject  the  proffered  medicine.  The  wel- 
fare of  the  South  and  the  peace  of  the  nation  were  at 
stake.  Upon  the  outcome  of  the  race  question  in 
America  the  hopes  of  the  darker  races  of  the  world 
depended.  Even  the  cause  of  popular  government 
was  involved,  she  felt,  for  it  was  to  be  seen  whether 
a  republic  could  deal  with  a  race  problem  of  so 
virulent  a  type.  Thus,  with  the  eyes  of  the  world 
upon  her,  Morlene  unfolded  the  manuscript  and 
began  its  study. 

As  the  document  was  somewhat  voluminous,  and 
as  the  issues  involved  were  of  such  grave  import  to 
the  cause  of  humanity,  Morlene  decided  that  she 
would  proceed  about  her  task  with  much  delibera- 
tion. Had  she  known  the  contents  of  Dorian's  per- 
sonal letter  she  would  have  proceeded  with  more 
dispatch.  This  Dorian  knew,  and  not  desiring  the 
personal  element  to  appear  in  her  study  of  the  plan 
enjoined  that  she  should  pursue  her  work  without 
being  influenced  by  what  was  contained  in  his  letter. 

So,  after  reading  a  while,  Morlene  laid  the  manu. 
script  aside  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day  in 


UNFETTERED. 


meditating  on  what  she  had  read.  The  second  day 
she  did  likewise.  Morlene  began  to  be  much 
elated,  for,  as  the  paper  progressed,  she  saw  that 
Dorian  was  treating  the  subject  in  a  most  compre- 
hensive way.  Thus,  from  day  to  day,  she  read  and 
pondered,  her  hopes  rising  higher  and  higher. 

Sometimes  when  Dorian  would  enter  upon  the 
discussion  of  some  particularly  difficult  question, 
her  old  feeling  of  fear  would  return,  but  when  in  a 
most  masterly  manner  he  would  sweep  away  the 
seeming  difficulties  just  as  though  they  were  so 
many  cobwebs,  her  heart  would  leap  joyfully. 
By  and  by,  after  the  lapse  of  many  days  Morlene 
drew  near  to  the  close  of  the  document.  When, 
on  the  last  day  of  her  perusal,  she  read  the  last 
words  of  the  last  page,  and  her  mind  flashed  back  to 
the  beginning  and  surveyed  in  general  outline  the 
whole,  her  enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds.  In  qua- 
vering tones  the  sweet  voice  of  this  girl,  charged 
and  surcharged  with  love  and  patriotism,  murmured 
the  words,  "  Columbia  is  saved.  L,et  all  mankind 
henceforth  honor  the  name  of  Dorian,  the  hero  of 
humanity."  She  now  secured  Dorian's  letter, 
broke  the  seal  and  read  as  follows,  a  look  of  pain 
deepening  on  her  beautiful  face  as  she  read. 

THE  LETTER. 
"  DEAR  MORLENE  : 

"  As   best   I  could,  heaven  knows,  I   have 
wrestled  with  the  problem  assigned  to  me  by  you, 


264  UNFETTERED. 

the  queen  of  my  heart.  Some  one  has  said  that 
the  most  sublime  incident  in  all  of  human  history 
was  Martin  Luther's  standing  alone  before  the  Diet 
of  Worms.  Side  by  side  with  that  statement  let  all 
men  now  write  that  my  situation  is  the  most  excru- 
ciatingly painful  one  that  a  human  being  has  ever 
been  called  upon  to  endure.  When  I  first  met  you, 
circumstances  forced  me  to  stifle  the  love  that  was 
ready  to  burst  into  a  flame.  Subsequently,  fate 
decreed  that  you  should  be  free,  and  my  heart  ran 
riot. 

"  But  fate  was  determined  that  one  so  Veautiful 
and  so  worthy  as  yourself  should  not  be  won  until 
the  wooer  appeared  in  some  degree  worthy  of  the 
lady  whose  hand  was  desired. 

"  Now,  dear  Morlene,  tell  me  by  what  process, 
human  or  divine,  I  could  be  made  in  any  measure 
worthy  of  you?  If  this  plan  is  supposed  to  achieve 
that  result,  is  supposed  to  mark  me  as  worthy  of  your 
hand,  it  has  failure  written  on  its  face.  This  con- 
clusion would  seem  to  be  beyond  the  realm  of  de- 
bate. And  yet  my  reason  tells  me  that  the  plan 
must  of  necessity  succeed ;  that,  being  based  upon 
incontrovertible  laws  there  is  no  way  for  it  to  fail. 

"Now,  Morlene,  my  darling,  with  my  powers  of 
intuition  telling  me  that  I  must  fail  of  winning 
your  hand  and  with  my  reason  telling  me  I  have 
successfully  performed  the  task  assigned  me,  what 
must  I  do?  Hope  and  Fear  have  come  to  terms  in 


UNFETTERED.  205 

my  bosom,  and  one  occupies  the  throne  one  minute 
and  the  other  the  next.  They  alternate  thus  by 
day  and  by  night.  In  my  dreams  I  am  sometimes 
as  happy  as  the  angels  are  reputed  to  be — happier 
than  they,  I  should  say.  But  the  joy  is  short-lived, 
and  in  my  dreams  I  find  myself  tumbling  over 
precipices  and  wading  through  miry  swamps. 

"  I  could  not  stay  in  R ,  and   in  quietness 

await  your  verdict.  I  have  had  to  travel,  to  lessen, 
if  possible,  the  strain  of  anxiety  upon  my  mind. 
So,  when  you  find  yourself  reading  this  letter,  I 
shall  be  hundreds  of  miles  away  at  Galveston, 
Texas,  on  the  beach  of  the  great  Gulf.  I  am  here 
awaiting  your  verdict.  If  it  is  favorable,  I  shall 
return  to  you  forthwith.  If  unfavorable,  I  am  at 
a  port  where  ships  are  daily  leaving  for  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Enough  for  that. 

"  Finally,  dear  one,  if  the  scheme  which  I  sub- 
mitted to  you  affords  the  necessary  assurance  that 
the  problem  will  be  solved,  telegraph  to  me  the  one 
word,  'Unfettered. '  If  it  does  not  afford  such  as- 
surance, let  yonr  message  be  'Fettered  still.' 
uAm  I  yours, 

Forever  or  Never  ? 

"  DORLAN  WARTHELL." 

When  Morlene  finished  reading  the  letter  it  was 
covered  with  the  tears  that  had  sped  down 
her  cheeks.  "  Dear,  dear  boy  !  how  much  he  must 
have  suffered,  if  he  loves  me  thus !"  So  saying, 


206  UNFETTERED. 

she  arose  and  hastened  toward  the  telegraph  office 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  a  message  to  Dorian. 

"  Suppose  my  delay  has  begotten  in  Dorian  the 
recklessness  of  despair,"  thought  Morlene,  and  fear 
born  of  the  terrible  thought  seemed  to  lend  her 
wings. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  TELEGRAM. 

Arriving  in  the  city  of  Galveston,  Dorian,  anx- 
ious to  receive  the  expected  message  from  Mor- 
lene  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  took  lip  his 
abode  in  an  establishment  just  opposite  the  tele- 
graph office. 

Day  after  day  Dorian  took  his  seat  at  the  win- 
dow of  his  room  and  watched  the  messenger  boys 
as  they  hurried  to  an  fro  delivering  messages.  He 
thought  pf  how  much  anxiety  the  countless  mes- 
sages represented,  but  concluded  that  his  was  equal 
to  all  the  other  anxieties  combined.  Each  night, 
when  he  regarded  the  hour  as  too  late  to  reasona- 
bly expect  a  message  from  Morlene,  he  would  go 
down  to  the  beach  and  gaze  out  upon  the  great  ex- 
panse of  waters.  The  tossing  waves  and  the  heav- 
ing billows  reminded  him  of  his  own  heart.  The 
tides  would  roll  in  to  the  shore  and  the  waves  would 
lap  his  feet  with  their  spray,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"Come  with  us.  We  are  like  you.  We  are  restless. 
Come  with  us."  Dorian  would  look  up  at  the  watch- 
ing stars  and  out  into  the  depths  of  the  silent  dark. 
Then  he  would  whisper  to  the  pleading  waves: 

"  Not  yet.     Perhaps  some  day." 

(207) 


208  UNFETTERED. 

Dorian's  love,  in  keeping  with  the  well  earned 
reputation  of  that  master  passion,  had  led  him  to 
hope  for  an  early  answer  from  Morlene,  in  spite  of 
the  extreme  gravity  and  manifold  complexity  of 
the  question  that  she  was  now  trying  to  decide. 
His  reason  told  him  better  than  to  expect  so  early 
a  reply.  Thus,  when  love  gave  evidence  of  disap- 
pointment, reason  would  say,  "Much  love  hath 
made  thee  mad,  my  boy.  Give  the  dear  girl  a 
chance,  will  you  ?  "  At  the  close  of  each  day  this 
colloquy  between  love  and  reason  would  take  place. 

But  Morlene's  delay  began  to  extend  beyond  the 
utmost  limits  that  Dorian  had  set.  Thereupon 
love's  tone  became  more  insistent  and  the  voice  of 
reason  grew  correspondingly  feeble. 

Dorian  at  last  concluded  that  Morlene's  decision 
was  unfavorable  to  him,  and  that  she  hesitated  to 
deliver  the  final  blow.  Every  vestige  of  hope  had 
fled  and  he  now  kept  up  his  daily  vigil  purely  out 
of  respect  for  Morlene,  not  that  he  longer  expected 
a  favorable  answer. 

Unwilling  for  Morlene's  sake  to  listen  in  the 
nights'  solitude  to  the  wooing  of  the  restless  waves, 
Dorian  changed  his  nightly  course  and  moved  about 
in  the  city.  As  he  was  listlessly  wandering  through 
the  city  one  night,  he  came  upon  a  crowd  standing 
in  a  vacant  lot  listening  to  a  man  detail  the  reputed 
virtues  of  medicines  which  he  was  trying  to  sell. 

The  medicine  man's    face  was    handsome,  his 


UNFETTERED.  2(X) 

head  covered  with  a  profusion  of  flaxen  hair  which 
fell  in  curls  over  his  shoulders.  His  voice  had  a 
pleasing  ring  and  his  whole  personality  was  allur- 
ing. On  the  platform  with  the  man  was  a  group 
of  Negro  boys  who  provided  entertainment  for  the 
crowd  in  the  intervals  between  the  introduction  of 
the  various  medicines.  Dorian  stood  on  the  outer 
edge  of  the  throng  and  thought  on  the  spectacle 
presented. 

The  white  people  of  the  South,  as  evidenced  by 
their  pleasure  in  Negro  minstrelsy,  were  prone  to 
regard  the  Negro  as  a  joke.  And  the  unthinking 
youths  were  now  employed  to  dance  and  sing  and 
laugh  away  the  aspirations  of  a  people. 

Dorian's  veins  began  to  pulsate  with  indigna- 
tion as  he  reflected  on  the  fact  that  the  ludicrous 
in  the  race  was  the  only  feature  that  had  free  ac- 
cess-to the  public  gaze.  He  was  longing  for  an 
opportunity  to  show  to  the  audience  that  there  was 
something  in  the  Negro  that  could  make  their 
bosoms  thrill  with  admiration.  In  a  most  unex- 
pected manner  the  opportunity  was  to  come. 

The  medicine  man  near  the  hour  of  closing  ad- 
dressed the  audience,  saying  :  ''Gentlemen,  it  pains 
me  to  state  that  our  aeronaut  is  confined  to  his  bed 
and  will  be  unable  to-night  to  make  his  customary 
balloon  ascension  and  descent  in  the  parachute. 
That  part  of  our  evening'  senterta.inment  must  there- 


210  UNFETTERED. 

fore  be  omitted,  unless  some  one  of  you  will  vol- 
unteer to  act  in  his  stead." 

The  last  remark  was  accompanied  with  a  smile, 
the  speaker  taking  it  for  granted  that  no  one  would 
be  willing  to  take  the  risk. 

"Two  birds  with  one  stone,"  said  Dorian.  "  The 
boys  have  taught  this  audience  how  to  laugh.  I 
can  show  them  an  act  of  bravery.  One  bird! 

"  There  must  be  a  great  force  somewhere  direct- 
ing the  affairs  of  the  universe.  His  plannings  puz- 
zle me.  Men  have  accidentally  gone  from  balloons 
to  solve  the  great  mystery  of  all  things.  Bird 
number  two!  Morlene  evidently  does  not  care." 

Elbowing  his  way  through  the  crowd,  Dorian 
clambered  upon  the  platform  and  said:  "Gentle- 
men, the  phases  of  Negro  character  are  as  varied 
as  those  of  other  men.  There  is  in  us  the  sense  of 
the  humorous  and  the  possibilities  of  the  tragic. 
We  can  partake  of  life  to  satiety,  we  can  die  of 
grief.  These  boys  have  made  you  laugh.  Allow 
me  to  awaken  in  you  higher  emotions.  I  will 
make  the  ascension  and  descent  and  thus  prevent 
the  marring  of  our  evening's  entertainment." 

The  medicine  man  looked  at  Dorian  in  astonish- 
ment, approached  him  and  talked  with  him  a  short 
while.  Concluding  that  Dorian  was  sane,  knew 
what  he  was  about,  and  would  not  undertake  the 
feat  if  incapable  of  .successfully  performing  it,  the 
man  nqw  had  the  balloon  prepared,  The  audi-: 


UNFETTERED.  211 

ence,  glad  that  they  were  not  to  be  robbed  of  their 
expected  pleasure,  cheered  lustily  when  it  was 
found  that  Dorian  was  to  make  the  trip  into  the 
air. 

Dorian  stepped  into  the  balloon  and  was  soon 
being  whirled  upward.  His  soul  felt  a  measure  of 
relief  as  he  rose  above  the  staring  crowd,  above 
the  tall  buildings,  as  he  entered  the  regions  of  float- 
ing clouds,  as  he  passed  upward  toward  the  brightly 
shining  moon  and  the  quiet  light  of  the  stars.  On 
and  on  he  swept. 

The  pure  air  into  which  he  had  now  come  re- 
freshed his  spirit  and  he  could  look  at  matters 
with  a  clearer  vision.  uThink,"  said  Dorian,  as 
he  stood  in  the  balloon  and  gazed  into  the  stellar 
depths,  "  how  long  it  took  this  universe  to  evolve 
unto  its  present  state.  Think  of  the  seemingly 
slow  process  of  world  formation  now  going  on  in 
the  Nebulae  scattered  through  those  realms  yon- 
der." His  mind  reverting  to  his  attitude  toward 
Morlene,  he  said : 

"  And  here  I  am  impatient  because  that  dear  girl 
on  whose  heart  the  woes  of  the  world  now  rest  has 
not  hastened  in  deciding  that  I  had  harnessed  the 
forces  that  will  solve  one  of  the  most  difficult  prob- 
lems that  ever  perplexed  mankind." 

The  utter  unreasonableness  of  expecting  so  early 
an  answer  upon  a  question  that  demanded  such 
earnest  thought,  now  appeared  to  him  as  almost 


212  UNFETTERED. 

criminal.  He  saw  that  the  time  allowed  Mor- 
lene,  in  what  he  regarded  as  his  saner  moods,  was 
thoroughly  inadequate.  These  moments  of  eleva- 
tion and  reflection  restored  hope  to  his  bosom. 

Stimulated  by  the  thought  that  Morlenewas  not 
necessarily  lost  to  him  as  yet,  Dorian  now  caused 
the  balloon  to  start  toward  the  earth.  He  would 
have  liked  to  come  down  all  the  way  in  the  balloon 
since  he  was  no  longer  yearning  for  death,  but  he 
remembered  his  brave  speech  and  the  expectations 
of  the  crowd  below.  So,  in  spite  or  his  keen  desire 
to  live,  he  decided  to  maintain  his  honor  in  the 
eyes  of  the  waiting  audience  and  descend  in  the 
parachute  at  whatever  cost.  Not  knowing  what 
would  be  his  fate,  Dorian  sprang  out  of  the  bal- 
loon, trusting  to  the  parachute.  At  a  terrific  speed 
he  shot  downward  toward  the  earth.  For  a  few 
seconds  the  parachute  seemed  that  it  was  not  going 
to  bear  him  safely  to  earth,  but,  happily  for  the  in- 
nocent Morlene,  soon  readjusted  itself.  Down, 
down,  down,  it  came  bringing  to  the  murky  atmos- 
phere, to  the  crowded  streets,  to  the  regions  of  jar- 
ring ambitions,  the  troubled  spirit  that  sought  in 
an  hour  of  despair  to  fly  its  ills. 

Dorian  reached  the  ground  in  safety  and  received 
the  congratulations  of  the  spectators,  who,  guided 
by  the  light  attached  to  the  balloon,  had  succeeded 
in  locating  the  possible  point  of  descent. 

Dorian  now  went  home,  fully  resolved  to  await 
in  calmer  spirit  the  expected  answer. 


tJNFETTERED. 

One  day  as  Dorian  was  sitting  before  his  win- 
dow, he  saw  a  messenger  boy  come  out  of  the  tele- 
graph office,  pause  and  look  up  at  the  number  on 
the  house  in  which  he  was  stopping. 

The  boy  then  started  across  the  street  in  Dorian's 
direction.  Dorian  ran  out  of  his  room  and  down 
the  steps,  reaching  the  door  before  the  boy.  Sure 
enough  the  telegram  was  for  Dorian.  He  snatched 
it  from  the  boy  and  handed  him  a  dollar. 

Dorian  turned  to  go  up  stairs.  "  Wait  for  your 
change,  Mister.  We  don't  get  but  ten  cents  extra." 

u  Keep  the  dollar,  lad,"  said  Dorian,  hurrying  up 
the  stairway.  Entering  his  room  he  gently  laid 
the  telegram  upon  the  center  table  and  stood  back 
to  gaze  upon  it.  Dorian  could  not  conceive  how 
he  could  endure  the  excess  of  grief  if  the  message 
was  unfavorable,  or  the  excess  of  joy  if  it  was  fa- 
vorable. Cautiously  he  approached  the  table,  then 
seized  the  telegram  and  tore  it  open. 

The  next  instant  the  lady  of  the  house  verily 
thought  that  a  Comanche  Indian  had  broken  into 
her  establishment,  so  loud  was  Dorian's  shout  of 
joy  when  his  eyes  fell  on  the  one  word,  "  Unfet- 
tered." Her  astonishment  was  even  greater  when 
Dorian  so  suddenly  departed,  leaving  in  her  hands 
a  roll  of  money  far  in  excess  of  her  charges. 

Dorian  had  no  time  for  explanations.  The  soul 
that  had  come  into  the  world  to  mate  with  his  was 


214  UNFETTERED. 

calling  for  him  and  all  other  considerations  had  to 
fade  away. 


As  the  train  rolled  into  the  shed  adjacent  to  the 

great  depot  at  R ,  Dorian,  who  was  standing 

on  the  platform  of  a  coach,  caught  sight  of  Mor- 
lene,  who  had  come  down  to  the  station  to  meet 
him.  He  seemed  to  feel  that  he  could  cover  the 
remaining  distance  between  himself  and  Morlene 
quicker  than  the  train,  for  he  leapt  upon  the  plat- 
form before  the  train  stopped  and  urged  his  way 
through  the  throng  to  the  spot  where  sb*: 
stood. 

Then,  half  forgetting  and  half  remembering  the 
multitude  present,  Dorian  grasped  the  outstretched 
hands  of  Morlene  drew  her  to  him,  and  planted  OJL 
her  lips  a  kiss — just  one,  mark  you.  The  ladies  wlto 
were  standing  near  looked  searchingly  at  Dorian, 
and  rendered  a  silent  verdict  that  Moilene  could  te 
excused  for  not  resenting  the  salutation  from  so 
handsome  and  so  noble  looking  a  man. 

The  men  looked  at  Morlene  and  wondered  bow 
Dorian  could  be  content  with  just  that  one.  Those 
men  always  thereafter  gave  Dorian  the  credit  of 
being  a  man  of  marvelous  self-control.  You  see, 
they  did  not  consult  Morlene  on  that  point,  who 
and  who  alone  knew  how  frequent  and  how  fervent 
were  those  manifestations  of  regard  after  the  proper 


UNFETTERED. 


authorities  had  said  that  she  was  to  be  Mis.  Mor- 
lene  Warthell  thenceforth  until  death. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Over  the  hillsides  of  life,  through  its  many  val- 
leys, alongside  its  babbling  brooks,  in  the  splendor 
of  the  noonday,  in  the  gloaming,  in  deepest  shades 
of  evening,  on  and  on,  Dorian  and  Morlene  go, 
happy  that  they  are  freed  from  the  narrow  and  nar- 
rowing problems  of  race ;  happy  that  at  last  they, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  mankind,  may  labor  for 
the  solution  of  those  larger  humanistic  problems 
that  have  so  long  vexed  the  heart  of  earth. 

We  now  bid  this  loving  and  laboring  couple  a 
fond  adieu,  well  knowing  that  wherever  in  this 
broad  world  these  true  souls  may  wander  they  will 
be  gladly  received  and  housed  as  the  benefactors 
of  mankind. 


THE  END  OF  UNFETTERED. 


DORLAN'S  PLAN. 


(SEQUEL  TO  "UNFETTERED/') 


A  DISSERTATION  ON  THE  RACE  PROBLEM. 


BY 


SUTTON  K  GRIGGS. 


'The  solution  of  the  Negro  Problem  involves  the  honor 
or  dishonor,  the  glory  or  shame,  the  happiness  or  misery 
of  the  entire  American  people.  "—Frederick  Dong/ass. 

"I  had  rather  see  my  people  render  back  this  question 
rightly  solved  than  to  see  them  gather  all  the  spoils 
OVtT  which  faction  has  contended  since  Cataline  con- 
spired and  Caesar  fought.'*— Henry  W.  Grady. 


FOREWORD. 


PRIOR  to  the  coming  of  Dorian  Warthell,  there 
were  many  to  be  found  in  the  United  States  who 
utterly  despaired  of  a  happy  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem of  adjusting  the  relations  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
and  Negro  races  to  each  other  on  an  honorable  and 
mutually  satisfactory  basis,  taking  care  the  while 
to  meet  the  highest  demands  of  the  present  and  of 
all  future  ages. 

Others,  while  not  despairing,  confessed  that  in 
the  horizon  subject  to  their  vision  not  a  glimmer 
of  light  appeared ;  confessed  that  they  were  only 
sustained  by  their  general  knowledge  of  nature's 
power  to  solve,  through  tears  and  years,  all  her 
problems. 

Thus,  until  the  day  when  Dorian  came,  Colum- 
bia sat  chained  on  the  one  side  by  benumbing  pessi- 
mism and  on  the  other  by  deferred  hope.  Accept- 
ing the  judgment  of  so  sweet  and  true  a  soul  as 
Morlene,  it  was  he  who  solved  the  problem.  In 
view  of  the  complicated  nature  of  the  problem  and 
the  great  interests  involved,  its  solution  must  ever 

be  regarded  as  a  noteworthy  achievement. 

(219) 


220  FOREWORD. 

It  occurred  to  us  that  the  ages  which  now  sleep 
in  the  womb  of  time  would  be  pleased  to  ponder 
the  achievement,  hoping  to  find  in  the  spirit  and 
method  of  its  undertaking,  suggestions  that  would 
enable  them  to  deal  wisely  with  the  problems  of 
their  day. 

For  the  sake,  therefore,  of  posterity  we  have 
concluded  to  place  on  record  a  copy  of  Dorian's 
Plan  by  means  of  which  he  swept  away  the  last 
barrier  that  stood  between  himself  and  the  woman 
who  had  entered  into  his  life  to  give  color  to  the 
whole  of  his  existence  in  this  world  and  in  such 
other  worlds  as  may  afford  a  dwelling  place  for  the 
spirit  of  man. 

Perhaps  a  majority  of  those  who  have  read  "  Un- 
fettered" and  have  learned  to  share  Dorian's  exaUed 
opinion  of  Morlene,  will  not  care  to  read  the  Plan, 
being  content  to  rest  the  whole  matter  upon  Mor- 
lene's  decision.  Those  who  pay  such  a  tribute  to 
our  heroine  may  thus  escape  the  tedium  of  wading 
through  the  dry  details  of  a  plan  by  means  of 
which  a  long  suffering  race  was  saved. 

Others  who  may  be  disposed  to  question  Morlene's 
judgment,  who  think  that  her  love  for  Dcrlan  in- 
fluenced her  to  decide  in  his  favor,  are  hereby  fur- 
nished with  the  Plan  and  ordered  to  read  it  as  a 
befitting  punishment  for  their  temerity. 

As  these  "doubting  Thomases"  wearily  plod 
their  way  through  the  Plan  we  hope  that  they 


FOREWORD.  221 

will  have  ever  present  with  them  to  add  to  their 
torture,  the  thought  that  they  would  have  escaped 
the  punishment  of  reading  all  that  Dorian  wrote 
had  they  meekly  accepted  Morlene's  verdict.  As 
wail  after  wail  shall  arise  proclaiming  what  dull 
reading  the  Plan  makes,  we  shall  chuckle  gleefully 
and  rub  our  hands  joyfully,  happy  that  those  who 
would  not  take  the  word  of  our  heroine  have  come 
to  the  end  so  richly  deserved. 

Those  who  accepted  Morlene's  verdict  and  now 
read  the  Plan  simply  for  the  purpose  of  defending 
her  from  hypercritical  personages  are  heroes  in- 
deed. For,  be  it  remembered,  it  often  requires  more 
courage  to  read  some  books  than  it  does  to  fight  a 
battle. 

Such  may  be  the  case  with  Dorian's  Plan,  and 
all  have  fair  warning. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


DORLAN'S  PLAN. 


WHERE  THE  TROUBLE  ARISES. 

rT"THE  Negro  is  a  human  being.  He  has  mani- 
&  I  fe  fested  every  essential  trait  of  human  nature. 
The  following  words  from  Emerson,  spoken 
of  each  individual  member  of  the  human  family, 
may  be  specially  affirmed  with  regard  to  the  Ne- 
gro :  *'  What  Plato  has  thought  he  may  think;  what 
a  saint  has  felt  he  may  feel;  what  at  any  time  has 
befallen  any  man,  he  can  understand." 

The  general  laws  governing  the  physical  and 
psychic  natures  of  men;  that  unfold  the  workings 
of  the  human  body  and  the  mental,  moral,  relig- 
ious, social  and  aesthetic  processes  of  the  soul — the 
general  laws  governing  these  operations  may  be 
applied  with  as  much  force  to  the  Negro  as  to  any; 
other  human  being. 

This  has  been  an  age  of  astounding  discoveries; 
but  the  physiologist,  the  pscychist,  the  ethicaf 
writer,  the  ecclesiastic,  the  sociologist,  the  investi- 
gator of  aesthetic  manifestations,  the  ethnologist, 
the  philologist  the  natural  scientist,  though  search- 
eageily.  have  discovered  naught  to  contro? 


224  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

vert  or  in  anywise  impair  the  doctrine  of  the  unity 
of  the  human  race  as  set  forth  in  the  declaration 
of  Paul,  "  that  all  nations  of  men "  have  been 
"made  of  one  blood  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth." 

Those  who  concede  to  the  humanity  of  the  Negro 
and  hold  to  the  theory  that  man  is  upon  the  earth 
through  the  direct,  specific,  creative  fiat  of  God,  are 
forced  to  admit  that  the  Negro's  certificate  of  mem- 
bership in  the  human  family  is  signed  by  the  Deity, 
and  by  virtue  of  that  fact  must  be  received  at  face 
value. 

He  who  holds  with  the  evolutionist  that  man 
is  the  product  of  evolutionary  forces,  working  in- 
cessantly through  the  countless  ages  that  lie  behind 
us,  must  perceive  that,  in  that  event,  the  Negro 
can  point  to  the  fact  that  his  presence  in  the  hu- 
man family  has  the  sanction  of  the  multiplied  myr- 
iads of  experiences  that,  from  one  forge,  out  of 
one  material,  through  the  one  process,  made  him 
along  with  other  human  beings.  If  God  is  repre- 
sented as  presiding  over  the  forces  of  evolution,  the 
Negro  may  claim  that  God  and  nature  have  fixed 
his  status  as  a  human  being. 

Being  forever  established  by  the  Supreme  Ar- 
chitect of  the  universe  within  the  line  drawn  to 
encircle  humanity  to  the  exclusion  of  all  things 
else,  the  Negro  is  entitled  to  every  right  that  in- 
heres in  the  fact  of  his  humanity.  He  is  entitlecj 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  225 

to  all  the  benefits  of  the  feeling  of  distinctive  fel- 
lowship— that  feeling  which  operates  to  bind  ant  to 
ant,  bird  to  bird,  and  man  to  man,  as  apart  from 
other  orders  of  beings.  He  is  entitled  to  the  desig- 
nation, Brother.  The  Negro  has  identically  the 
same  right  to  live  as  other  human  beings ;  the 
same  right  as  they  to  tread  unfettered  any  and  all  of 
the  pathways  that  destiny  has  marked  out  for  hu- 
man feet. 

It  is  this  conception  of  the  basic,  inherent  right 
of  the  Negro  to  share  on  equal  terms  with  all  other 
human  beings  all  the  rights  and  privileges  apper- 
taining to  membership  in  the  human  family  that 
gives  rise  to  the  Race  Problem  in  the  United  States 
of  America.  For,  while  the  claim  is  passionately 
cherished  by  the  Negroes  and  is  espoused  with  va- 
rying degrees  of  warmth  by  one  section  of  the 
American  whites,  it  is  most  vigorously  opposed  by 
another. 


OUR    PROBLEM. 

IT  is  our  task  to  so  utilize  the  forces  at  our  com- 
mand as  to  nullify  all  artificial  hindrances  to 
the  development  of  the  Negro;  to  remove  from  his 
soul  the  man-imposed  fetters;  to  so  open  the  way 
that  the  man  with  a  black  skin  shall  have  his  op- 
portunities limited  solely  by  his  capacity,  as  is  the 
case  with  those  not  of  his  color.  We  are  to  insti- 
tute merit  as  the  test  of  preferment;  mind,  as  the 


226  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

measure  of  the  man.  To  reverse  the  standard  of 
measurement,  to  transfer  it  from  color  to  culture,  is 
our  problem. 

The  plan  to  be  submitted  must  take  cognizance 
of  all  the  factors  in  the  situation;  must  be  capable 
of  being  operated  by  the  race  constituted,  environed 
and  conditioned  as  it  is.  With  this  conception  of 
our  task  we  begin  our  labors. 


THE   INSPIRATION  OF  THE  OPPOSITION. 

FT  is  well  in  every  species  of  combat  for  a  man 
-*•  to  seek  to  know  the  exact  nature  of  the  op- 
posing force.  Knowing  this,  one  understands  the 
better  how  to  gauge  his  efforts.  With  this  aim  in 
view,  we  shall  make  a  reconnoitre  to  discover  just 
what  is  arrayed  against  us. 

Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  says:  "It  has  come  to  be  a 
maxim  of  science  that  in  the  causes  still  at  work, 
are  to  be  identified  the  causes  which,  similarly  at 
work  during  past  times,  have  produced  the  state  of 
things  now  existing." 

We  would  expect,  therefore,  to  find  the  past  yet 
afhcting  the  Negro,  and  such  is  indeed  the  case. 
From  the  year  1619  until  the  close  of  the  civil  war, 
t^ie  white  people  of  the  South  held  the  Negroes  in 
slavery. 

It  is  the  habit  of  nature  to  confer  upon  a  man 
those  equalities  that  the  better  fit  him  for  his  line 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  227 

of  work.  In  order  to  successfully  hold  slaves,  the 
Southern  man  fostered  the  belief  that  the  Negro's 
humanity  was  somewhow  of  a  different  brand  from 
his  own.  Having  satisfied  himself  that  essential 
differences  existed  between  himself  and  the  Negro, 
he  was  the  better  prepared  to  mete  out  treatment 
which  he  would  have  deemed  outrageous  if  applied 
to  himself  by  another. 

To  prevent  uprisings  on  the  part  of  tfce  slaves 
repressive  measures  were  instituted,  and  the 
Southern  white  man  became  an  adept  in  ihe  art 
of  controlling  others,  and  his  nature  became  inured 
to  the  task.  The  traits  of  character  acquired  in 
one  generation  were  transmitted  to  succeeding  gen- 
erations, so  that  notions  of  inherent  superiority  and 
the  belief  in  the  right  of  repression  became  in- 
grained in  Southern  character. 

In  confirmation  of  this  conclusion,  We  again 
quote  from  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  who  says  :  "  The 
emotional  nature  prompting  the  general  mode  of 
conduct  is  derived  from  ancestors — is  a  product  of 
all  ancestral  activities.  *  *  *  The  governing 
sentiment  is,  in  short,  mainly  the  accumulated  and 
organized  sentiment  of  the  past." 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  it  becomes  evident  that 
the  repression  which  the  Negro  encounters  to-day 
is  but  the  offspring  of  his  repression  of  yester- 
day. 


228  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

STILL  IN  THE  BALANCES. 

IN  Prof.  Giddings'  u  analysis  of  the  population 
of  the  United  States  according  to  race,  he 
says  that  the  English  temperament  is  represented 
by  about  33^  per  cent.,  the  prevailing  Irish  by 
about  29  per  cent.,  and  the  prevailing  Scotch  by 
about  19  per  cent.  The  percentage,  not  of  course 
precise,  is,  he  thinks,  indicative  of  the  influence 
on  the  American  life  and  character  of  these  racial 
tendencies." 

We  are  laboring  to  add  the  voice  of  the  Negro  to 
this  national  chorus.  The  giving  of  the  Negro  an 
opportunity  for  untrammeled  activity  in  the  Na- 
tional Government  means  that  much  of  an  addition 
to  and  consequent  alteration  of  our  characteristic 
Americanism. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Negro  will  bring  into  the 
national  spirit  the  influence  of  his  peculiar  charac- 
teristics. Now  this  adding  to  and  taking  from  the 
national  spirit  is  a  most  grave  matter.  Often  the 
characteristic  spirit  of  a  people  is  a  sole  remaining 
reliance;  is  often  the  only  asset  that  the  fluctuations 
of  capricious  fortune  has  not  swept  away. 

The  great  importance  that  attaches  to  the  spirit 
that  characterizes  a  nation  is  set  forth  by  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  in  the  following  words  :  "  Had  I  been 
in  1815  the  choice  of  the  English  as  I  was  of  the 
French,  I  might  have  lost  the  battle  of  Waterloo 
without  losing  a  vote  in  the  legislature  or  a  soldier 


DORIvAN*S   PLAN.  229 

from  my  ranks."  Allusion  is  here  made  to  that 
British  tendency  to  persist  in  a  given  course  and 
adhere  to  the  standards  of  chosen  leaders  in  the 
midst  of  circumstances  adverse  and  even  appalling. 
On  the  soil  of  England  and  on  many  another  spot 
where  the  Englishman's  foot  has  trod,  from  the 
dying  embers,  yea,  the  smouldering  ashes  of  defeat, 
victory  has  so  often  sprung  as  the  result  of  the 
spirit  to  which  Napoleon  Bonaparte  paid  tribute. 

The  English  speaking  race  holds  woman  in  high 
esteem,  but  she  has  thus  far  been  denied  the  right 
of  suffrage  because  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  what 
would  be  the  resultant  blend  arising  from  her  more 
active  participation  in  the  affairs  of  State. 

Mr.  Wm.  E.  L,ecky,  in  opposing  the  granting  of 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  women  of  England,  gave 
it  as  his  opinion  that  the  emotional  element  in  pol- 
itics was  already  sufficiently  great  without  the  addi- 
tion of  the  strongly  developed  emotionalism  of 
woman.  The  same  sentiment  of  conservatism  that 
operates  to  cause  woman's  rejection  is,  beyond 
question,  a  factor  in  our  problem. 

The  Negro  has  but  lately  entered  civilization's 
parlor.  He  possesses  an  oriental  nature  called  to 
service  in  an  occidental  civilization.  Of  remarka- 
bly quiescent  tendencies  he  must  play  a  part  in  a 
government  born  of  a  revolutionary  spirit  and  so 
devised  that  revolutions  may  be  effected  whenever 
desired  through  means  of  the  ballot  box. 


230  DORLAN'S 

The  remarkable  manner  in  which  we  have  re- 
sponded to  the  quickening  touch  of  civilization; 
the  revelation  of  traits  of  a  sublime  nature  unpar- 
alleled in  the  world's  history  (witness  the  keen 
sense  of  honor  that  led  us  to  care  for  the  helpless 
wives  and  children  of  those  who  were  at  the  seat 
of  war  fighting  for  our  continued  enslavement);  the 
successful  meeting,  where  conditions  were  favor- 
able ,  of  every  test  that  civilization  has  thus  far  im- 
posed— these  considerations  influence  us  to  believe 
that  the  grasping  of  the  flagstaff  by  Negro  hands 
but  means  that  the  flag  will  float  the  higher  and 
flutter  the  prouder  and  diffuse  through  the  earth 
even  greater  glory  than  before  our  coming. 

Before  we  can  take  up  the  full  place  for  which 
we  aspire,  we  must  meet  and  combat  the  timorous 
conservatism  that  has  hitherto  impeded  our  prog- 
ress. 

Thus  are  the  lines  of  battle  drawn.  On  one 
field  stands  the  hopeful  Negro  never  to  be  con- 
tented save  with  a  man's  place.  On  the  opposing 
field  stands  the  Southern  white  man  with  an  in- 
herited nature  and  cultivated  sentiments  that  ren- 
der the  repression  of  the  Negro  a  congenial  task. 
To  one  side  stands  the  representative  of  civiliza- 
tion at  large,  hesitating  about  doing  more  in  our  be- 
half until  we  have  fully  cleared  our  skirts  of  the 
suspicion  that  attaches  to  a  new  comer  into  civiliza- 
tion. With  this  conception  of  the  influences  which 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  231 

we  are  to  combat,  we  now  plan  for  the  momentous 

struggle. 

**  . 

HE  WHO  HAS   HITHERTO    FOLLOWED   CALLED  UPON 
TO   LEAD. 

l^TAPOLEON  has  said  that  men  of  imagination 
/  *  rule  the  world.  When  society  is  in  a  transi- 
tional state,  men  of  imagination  are  able  through 
clear  comprehension  of  the  forces  at  work,  to  pro- 
ject themselves  into  the  new  era,  and,  seeing  where 
the  movement  tends,  place  themselves  at  the  head 
of  the  procession.  Those  deficient  in  this  faculty 
cannot  perceive  the  ultimate  goal  of  the  processes 
forming  before  their  very  eyes  ;  and,  even  when 
new  conditions  have  come  bearing  the  stamp  of 
immortality,  they  yet  are  dreaming  of  a  relapse 
into  old  conditions  that  are  gone  forever.  They 
are  thus  unfit  for  the  duties  of  the  new  era,  being 
devotees  of  the  past.  The  ruling  of  the  world  is, 
therefore,  left,  as  Napoleon  asserts,  to  men  of 
imagination. 

The  present  moment  is  one  calling  for  the  exer- 
cise of  this  faculty  of  the  mind  on  the  part  of  the 
Negro  in  the  United  States.  Hitherto  the  Re- 
publican party  has  been  looked  upon  as  the  agency 
which  was  to  solve  all  his  problems.  This  was  a 
very  natural  expectation  as  that  party  has  been  the 
agency  by  means  of  which  so  much  tending  in  that 
direction  has  been  accomplished. 


232  BORLAND  PLAN. 

A  political  party,  aspiring  for  control  of  the 
Government,  may  choose  a  paramount  issue,  but 
one  in  power  labors  to  take  care  of  all  interests 
,  committed  to  it.  Now  that  the  Republican  party 
has  won  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people,  the  business  interests  of  the  country  are 
insistent  that  they  be  cared  for  first  and  foremost. 
The  nation  is  making  an  effort  to  extend  its  com- 
merce into  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and  the  Repub- 
lican party  is  implored  to  be  the  agency  through 
which  this  is  to  be  accomplished. 

In  view  of  the  many  interests  committed  to  its 
care,  the  Republican  party  seems  disinclined  to 
make  a  specialty  of  the  Negro  Problem.  While 
reaffirming  its  old  time  position  on  that  subject,  it 
does  not  see  it-;  wiy  clear  to  jeopardize  all  other 
interests  for  the  sake  of  that  one  plank  of  its  plat- 
form. While  the  friendship  and  moral  support  of 
that  party  is  to  be  retained,  and  while  Negroes 
who  sympathize  with  its  economic  policies  should 
abide  with  it,  it  is  not  wise  for  the  race  to  rely 
upon  it  solely  fo:  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  Race 
Problem. 

In  fact,  the  hour  has  come  when  the  race  must 
take  the  matter  of  its  salvation  into  its  own  hands. 
In  times  past,  when  the  battles  of  the  race  were 
to  be  fought,  others  led  and  the  trusting  Negro 
followed.  In  this  new  era  the  Negroes  must  lead, 
must  bear  the  main  brunt  of  the  battle.  Thus, 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  233 

while  estranging  no  friends  of  the  past,  and  fully 
appreciating  the  continued  necessity  of  outside  as- 
sistance wherever  attainable,  the  foreword  of  our 
new  propaganda  shall  be  Self-Reliance. 

Having  hitherto  been  concerned  with  the  task 
of  comprehending  and  imbibing  a  civilization 
which  we  had  no  appreciable  share  in  developing, 
our  passivity,  quiescence,  docility,  the  readiness 
to  follow  others,  were  the  characteristics  which  we 
mainly  manifested. 

Now  that  we  are  to  cast  off  the  role  of  a  nursling 
and  take  our  place  as  co-creators  of  whatever 
the  future  has  in  store  for  the  human  race,  a  new 
order  of  talents  must  be  called  into  operation  and 
a  new  mode  of  procedure  adopted. 

Fortunately  for  us  we  have  the  incentive  of  a 
largely  inglorious  past  to  be  redeemed,  and  the 
light  of  all  of  man's  past  to  serve  as  our  guide. 


REVISITING  THE   ORIENT. 

gain  our  first  lesson  in  the  work  before  us, 
we  transport  ourselves  over  land  and  sea  un- 
til, standing  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  we  can 
pause  and  gaze  upon  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  re- 
minders of  the  day  when  our  ancestral  home  held 
aloft  the  torch  of  civilization.  In  those  pyramids, 
we  behold  that  stones  of  enormous  size  and  weight 
have  been  lifted  to  such  distances  from  the  earth 


234  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

as  to  stagger  the  imagination  and  inspire  wonder 
in  the  hearts  of  all  generations  of  all  races  that 
have  seen  or  heard  of  the  feat  unparalleled  in  an- 
cient or  modern  times. 

Some  African  genius  of  the  long  ago  constructed 
a  device,  now  unknown  to  earth,  whereby  the  sev- 
eral strengths  of  individuals  could  be  conjoined 
and  the  sum  of  their  strengths  thus  obtained  ap- 
plied to  the  task  of  lifting  the  ponderous  stones. 
Innumerable  hosts  would  have  failed  in  lifting 
those  pyramidal  stones  to  the  positions  which  they 
occupy  had  it  not  been  for  the  aid  of  the  device 
that  enabled  them  to  work  conjointly.  From 
these  pyramids,  eloquent  in  their  silence,  persist- 
ent reminders  of  the  departed  glory  of  Africa,  let 
the  scattered  sons  of  that  soil  learn  their  first  great 
need — Co-operation. 

Our  initial  step  must  be  the  creation  of  a  device 
whereby  the  several  strengths  of  the  millions  of 
Negroes  in  the  world  may  be  harnessed  to  the 
huge  stone  of  a  world  hate,  to  the  end  that  said 
stone  shall  be  swung  aloft  and  hurled  into  the  sea, 
sinking  by  the  force  of  its  own  weight  into  eter- 
nal oblivion. 

Ji 

CLASPING   HANDS. 

IN  view  of  the  fact  that  we  cannot  now  point  to 
any  organization  capable  of  amassing  the  full 
strength  of  the  race,  and  as  the  absence  of  such  an 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  235 

organization  might  be  construed  to  indicate  that 
there  is  no  need  for  such,  we  now  quote  authorities 
that  thoroughly  demonstrate  the  absolute  need  of 
co-operative  effort. 

Prince  Kropotkin,  the  eminent  Russian  natu- 
ralist, in  discussing  co-operation  among  lower  ani- 
mals, remarks  : 

« If  we  *  *  *  *  ask  Nature,  4  Who  are  the 
fittest:  those  who  are  continally  at  war  with  each 
other,  or  those  who  support  one  another  ?'  we  at 
once  see  that  those  animals  which  acquire  habits 
of  mutual  aid  are  undoubtedly  the  fittest.  They 
have  more  chances  to  survive,  and  they  attain,  in 
their  respective  classes,  the  highest  development 
of  intelligence  and  bodily  organization. ' ' 

Darwin,  giving  the  results  of  his  observation 
among  the  lower  animals,  pays  tribute  to  the  spirit 
of  co-operation,  when  he  says:  "  Those  communi- 
ties (of  animals)  which  included  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  the  most  sympathetic  members  would  flour- 
ish best." 

Ascending  from  the  lower  animals,  we  find  that 
co-operation  is  equally  as  valuable  and  necessary 
for  man.  In  the  march  of  humanity  toward  an 
ideal  civilization,  we  find  those  races  in  the  van 
which  have  best  acquired  the  art  of  co-operating, 
while  the  rear  is  brought  up  by  those  peoples  in 
whom  the  instinct  of  co-operation  is  thus  far  miss- 
ing or  but  feebly  developed. 


236 

Prof.  Henry  Drummond  remarks:  "To  create 
units  in  indefinite  quantities  and  scatter  them  over 
the  world  is  not  even  to  take  one  single  step  in 
progress.  Before  any  higher  evolution  can  take 
place  these  units  must  by  some  means  be  brought 
into  relation  so  as  not  only  to  act  together,  but  to 
react  upon  each  other.  According  to  well  known 
biological  laws,  it  is  only  in  combinations,  whether 
of  atoms,  cells,  animals,  or  human  beings  that  in- 
dividual units  can  make  any  progress,  and  to  cre- 
ate such  combinations  is  in  every  case  the  first 
condition  of  development.  Hence  the  first  com- 
mandment of  Evolution  everywhere  is,  c  Thou 
shalt  mass,  segregate,  combine,  grow  large.'  " 

A  recent  writer  has  expressed  the  thought  that 
"neither  material  prosperity,  nor  happiness,  nor 
physical  vigor,  nor  higher  intelligence,"  consti- 
tute the  difference  between  the  'higher'  and  the 
'lower'  races,  but  that  "those  are  higher  in  which 
broad  social  instincts  and  the  habit  of  co-operation 
exist." 

In  whatever  direction  we  turn  we  find  evidence 
of  the  universality  of  this  law.  The  voices  of 
science,  history  and  sociology  in  unbroken  har- 
mony sing  to  the  Negro  of  the  necessity  of  co-ope- 
rative effort.  We  must,  therefore,  proceed  at  once 
to  the  formation  of  a  racial  organization  truly  rep- 
resentative, and  able  to  present  the  combined  re- 
sources of  the  race  to  the  work  before  us.  When 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  237 

this  is  done  the  Race  Problem  will  at  once  assume 
an  acute  phase;  for  the  aggregate  wisdom  and 
power  of  the  Negro  none  can  wisely  ignore.  Es- 
pecially is  it  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  an  aggrega- 
tion of  the  kind  indicated  is  calculated  to  reveal, 
to  develop,  to  impart  added  greatness  to  men  al- 
ready peculiarly  endowed  with  powers  of  aggres- 
sive leadership.  We  must,  then,  add  to  the  equa- 
tion the  enormous  impetus  to  be  given  to  causes 
by  the  presence  of  great  spirits  arousing  and  guid- 
ing the  thoughts  and  energies  of  earnest,  daring 
millions. 


RENOVATION. 

our  great  organization  has  been  effected 
it  must  proceed  to  the  diligent  study  of  such 
traits  and  environing  influences  as  have  in  the 
past  operated  to  impair  the  spirit  of  co-operation. 
L/ocating  the  weak  points,  we  must  proceed  to  in- 
duce in  the  Negro  such  mental  and  moral  charac- 
teristics, and  must  so  regulate  his  environments  as 
to  insure  efficient  co-operation  for  all  the  future 

It  is  an  evident  fact  that  the  spirit  of  jealousy 
is  more  prevalent  in  some  individuals  than  in  oth- 
ers. The  like  may  be  asserted  with  regard  to  races. 
Among  the  Negroes  there  appears  to  be  an  inor- 
dinate development  of  this  feeling  of  jealousy, 
which  makes  itself  felt  among  the  htnjiblest  and 


238  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

among  the  highest.  Success  on  the  part  of  a  Ne- 
gro would  appear  to  be  a  standing  invitation  for  the 
shooting  of  arrows  into  his  bosom.  While  a  strict 
surveillance  over  leaders  is  highly  commendable, 
the  baneful  effects  of  hypercriticism  and  jealous 
intrigues  are  far  reaching.  Our  racial  organization 
must  tear  up  by  the  roots  this  extraordinary  pre- 
disposition toward  jealousy  and  plant  in  its  stead 
the  flower  of  brotherly  love. 

During  our  prolonged  existence  in  a  state  of  in- 
dividualism, each  man  working  for  himself  and  by 
himself,  there  was  but  little  to  engender  in  a  man 
the  spirit  of  sacrifice  in  the  interest  of  the  race  as 
an  aggregation.  When  our  racial  organization  is 
perfected  we  must  write  upon  every  man's  heart 
the  following  words,  causing  each  one  to  feel  in  his 
own  case:  "It  is  expedient  for  us,  that  one 
man  should  die  for  the,  people." 

In  the  work  of  further  congealing  the  race,  of  in- 
ducing in  it  the  social  instincts  so  needful  for  effi- 
cient co-operation,  we  have  the  aid  of  the  scorching 
flames  of  race  prejudice  which  flash  in  the  faces  of 
all  Negroes  thus  driving  them  closer  together. 

As  the  wars  of  David  with  surrounding  enemies 
made  a  nation  of  the  loose  aggregation  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel ;  as  the  hundred  years  of  fighting 
with  France  effected  the  integration  of  the  people 
of  England ;  as  the  war  of  the  Revolution  sowed 
the  seed  that  enabled  the,  American  people  to  fornj 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  239 

a  nation  out  of  the  thirteen  colonies  ;  as  the  compact 
German  empire  of  to-day  is  the  result  of  outside 
pressure;  just  so  is  American  prejudice  producing  a 
oneness  of  sentiment  in  the  Negroes  which  inevit- 
ably leads  toward  their  acting  as  a  unit  in  matters 
affecting  their  salvation. 

Having  arranged  for  our  organization,  we  are 
now  to  poi'nt  out  the  lines  along  which  it  is  to  la- 
bor. 

£ 
WHERE  TO  BEGIN. 

EALJZING  that  we  must  at  every  point  dem- 
onstrate  that  we  are  intrinsically  as  well  as 
constitutionally  entitled  to  the  lofty  estate  of  Amer- 
ican citizenship,  our  racial  organization  must  neg- 
lect nothing  needful  in  the  fitting  of  the  race  for 
the  high  destiny  unto  which  it  is  called. 

In  the  work  of  preparing  the  race,  first  and  fore- 
most, attention  must  be  given  to  character  building. 
Any  hopes  founded  on  aught  else,  are  illusive. 
Character  is  the  bedrock  on  which  we  must  build. 
In  describing  the  successful  nation,  Mr.  L,ecky 
gives  voice  to  the  following  sentiments  unto  which 
we  must  pay  utmost  heed  : 

4 'Its  foundation  is  laid  in  pure  domestic  life,  in 
commercial  integrity,  in  a  high  standard  of  moral 
w  >rth  and  of  public  spirit,  in  simple  habits,  in, 
courage,  uprightness,  and  a  certain  soundness  and 
moderation  of  judgment  which  springs  quite  as^ 


240  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

much  from  character  as  from  intellect.  If  you  would 
form  a  wise  judgment  of  the  future  of  a  nation,  ob- 
serve carefully  whether  these  qualities  are  increasing 
or  decaying.  Observe  especially  what  qualities 
count  for  most  in  public  life.  Is  character  becom- 
ing of  greater  or  less  importance?  Are  the  men 
who  obtain  the  highest  posts  in  the  nation,  men  of 
whom  in  private  life  and  irrespective  of  party, 
competent  judges  speak  with  genuine  respect?  Are 
they  of  sincere  convictions,  consistent  lives,  indis- 
putable integrity  ?  *  *  *  It  is  by  observing  this 
moral  current  that  you  can  best  cast  the  horoscope 
of  a  nation." 


11  THERE  IS  NO  PLACE  LIKE  HOME." 

XN  the  matter  of  character  building,  first,  atten- 
tion must  be  paid  to  the  home.  Prof.  Henry 
Drummond  has  remarked  that  "  the  first  great 
schoolroom  of  the  human  race  is  the  home."  He 
further  remarks  that  "  It  is  the  mature  opinion  of 
every  one  who  has  thought  upon  the  history  of 
the  world,  that  the  thing  of  highest  importance 
for  all  times  and  to  all  nations  is  Family  Life." 

The  home  life  of  the  Negro  has  had  to  encounter 
many  antagonistic  influences.  The  work  of  home 
building  could  not  progress  under  the  institution 
of  slavery.  The  present  builders  of  Negro  homes 
$re,  therefore,  pioneers,  in  the  work,  lacking  the 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  241 

aptitude  that  would  be  theirs  did  they  inherit  na- 
tures that  descended  from  many  generations  of 
home  builders. 

Conditions  under  freedom,  though  an  improve- 
ment on  the  past,  have  retarded  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  the  .home  life  of  the  Negro.  Often 
the  Negro  husband,  having  been  accustomed  to 
seeing  women  labor,  has  no  scruples  as  to  his  wife's 
being  a  laborer,  even  when  her  home  is  full  of  chil- 
dren. The  Negro  woman  having  been  accustomed 
to  work  often  continues  to  do  so,  after  her  aid  is  no 
longer  needed  to  help  support  the  family. 

The  average  home  is  small  and  housekeeping 
duties  are  not  onerous.  Not  many  possess  libra- 
ries, and  reading  is  not  much  in  vogue.  Thus 
many  work  in  order  to  keep  employed. 

In  other  cases  the  scale  of  wages  paid  to  the  men 
is  so  very  low  that  the  woman  has  to  come  to  the 
rescue  as  a  wage  earner.  This  calls  her  from  her 
home  and  children. 

It  is  often  the  case  in  large  families  that  the 
united  sayings  of  the  husband  and  wife  are  insuf- 
ficient to  take  care  of  the  family  wants,  an  1  conse- 
quently the  children  are  sent  out  to  work. 

The  hours  of  toil  for  all  classes  of  laborers  are 
very  long,  so  that  families  are  separated  from  early 
morning  until  after  nightfall.  So  close  has  been  the 
confinement  all  the  week  that  Sunday  becomes  the 
day  for  general  visiting  and  pleasure  seeking.  It 


242  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

is  very  evident  that  the  home  life  has  but  a  fighting 
chance  under  such  conditions.  And  yet  other  fac- 
tors are  to  be  added. 

The  child  being  required  to  support  himself  ear- 
ly, assumes  an  air  of  independence,  and  parental 
authority  is  correspondingly  weakened. 

The  home  life  of  the  Negro  is  also  quite  largely 
affected  by  the  peculiar  hold  which  the  secret  so- 
ciety has  upon  the  race.  The  though c  that  he  will 
enter  a  realm  where  much  wisdom  abides  operates 
to  draw  the  Negro  to  the  secret  society.  Then,  too? 
if  he  is  a  member  of  such  a  body,  he  has,  in  the  fact 
of  membership,  a  passport  bearing  testimony  as  to 
his  social  standing.  Again,  the  aid  furnished  by 
these  societies  during  sickness,  and  their  public 
displays  upon  the  occasion  of  the  burial  of  their 
members  are  strong  attractions  for  the  Negroes  of 
limited  means  and  of  little  note.  The  Negro  not 
content  with  membership  in  one  such  organization 
usually  joins  as  many  as  his  means  will  permit. 
The  meetings  of  the  societies  are  numerous  and 
are  held  at  night,  necessitating  much  absence  from 
home  on  the  part  of  both  the  father  and  the  mother. 
The  lodge  meeting  also  furnishes  an  excuse  to  such 
husbands  as  may  have  other  reasons  for  not  spend- 
ing evenings  at  home. 

The  weekly  church  services  are  held  at  night, 
calling  for  more  time  from  home.  In  view  of  all 
of  which  it  is  apparent  that  we  are  weak  at  the 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  243 

foundation,  the  family  life,  and  strenuous  efforts  #re 
needed  at  this  point. 

Our  organization  must  employ  an  army  of  work- 
ers to  co-operate  with  Negro  mothers  in  the  work 
of  home  building.  Christian  institutions  where 
Negro  boys  and  girls  are  being  trained  must  be 
induced  to  pay  especial  attention  to  the  question 
of  the  Negro's  home.  The  laborers'  working  day 
must  be  shortened,  so  that  they  may  have  mere 
time  at  home.  The  white  families  must  be  in- 
duced to  have  earlier  suppers,  so  that  those  who 
cook  for  them  may  return  to  their  several  homes 
the  earlier. 

The  scale  of  wages  must  be  increased  so  that 
the  mother  and  children  may  be  exempt  from  the 
task  of  bread  winning.  With  an  increase  in  wages 
and  the  consequent  ability  to  save  a  portion  of  his 
earnings  for  the  '  rainy  day,'  the  lodge  will  not 
be  the  absolute  necessity  to  the  Negro  that  it  now 
appears  to  him  to  be.  Under  these  improved  con- 
ditions the  mother  and  the  father  can  the  better 
co-operate  and  make  the  home  what  it  must  be. 
Our  racial  organization  must  bend  its  energies  in 
the  direction  to  accomplish  these  results.  For  one 
thing  it  must  link  its  great  influence  to  that  of  the 
forces  laboring  for  the  improvement  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  toiling  masses. 


244  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

RELIGION  A  FACTOR. 

IN  his  very  brilliant  work  on  "  Social  Evolu- 
tion," BenjaminKidd  remarks  that  "there  is  not 
that  direct  connection  between  social  development 
and  high  intellectual  development  which  has  hith- 
erto been  almost  universally  assumed  to  exist," 
and  "  that  the  wide  interval  between  the  peoples 
who  have  attained  the  highest  social  development 
and  the  lowest,  is  not  mainly  the  result  of  a  differ- 
ence in  intellectual,  but  a  difference  in  ethical  de- 
velopment." 

He  further  states  that  the  human  race  "  would, 
in  fact,  appear  to  be  growing  more  and  more  reli- 
gious, the  winning  sections  being  those  in  which, 
caeteris  paribus,  this  type  of  character  is  most  fully 
developed."  He  is  firmly  of  the  opinion  that 
"the  evolution  which  is  slowly  proceeding  in  socie- 
ty is  not  primarily  intellectual,  but  religious  in 
character." 

The  influence  of  religion  upon  a  people's  life  is 
admittedly  so  great  that  any  program  looking  to 
betterment  of  their  condition  must  take  note  of  the 
prevailing  religious  belief.  The  Christian  religion 
was  ingrafted  upon  our  racial  life  in  the  days  of 
slavery.  As  we  were  in  an  abnormal  state,  it 
should  not  occasion  surprise  if  many  did  not  get  a 
normal  grasp  upon  the  Christian  religion. 

In  the  days  of  slavery  the  Negro  felt  that  his  lot 
in  this  world  was  a  rather  hopeless  one.  No  where 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  245 

could  he  catch  a  glimmer  of  hope.  To  him  the 
earth  was  without  form  and  void.  But  his  opti- 
mistic nature  1  ad  to  be  fed,  and  the  glories  of  the 
world  to  come,  pictured  in  the  Bible,  to  him  became 
a  living  reality.  Thenceforth  his  mind  rested  not 
on  earth.  The  death  bed,  the  funeral,  the  grave, 
the  world  to  come,  received  the  wealth  of  his  spir- 
itual energies.  As  a  natural  result  the  bearings 
of  religion  on  this  present  life  were  lightly  passed 
over,  lethargic  conditions  ensued  and  the  spirit  of 
wise  prevision  was  in  large  measure  absent.  The 
morbid  dwelling  of  the  mind  of  the  Negro  on  an- 
ticipated worlds  must  be  discountenanced  ;  a  more 
rounded  view  of  religion  inculcated. 

Without  entering  into  sectarianism  our  racial 
organization  must  foster  such  conceptions  of  reli- 
gion as  will  make  its  ethical  teachings,  applicable 
to  life  in  this  world,  more  prominent.  With  the 
home  life  cared  for  and  proper  religious  instruction 
guaranteed,  our  racial  organization  will  have  laid 
secure  foundations. 

# 

TO  WEAR  WELL  OUR  CROWN. 

OUR  racial  organization  must  bear  in  mind  that 
we  are  struggling  for  untrammeled  freedom 
in  the  greatest  government  that  human  intellect 
has  ever  evolved. .  Without  proper  culture  we  can- 
not meet  the  requirements  of  worthy  citizenship. 
We  must  pay  especial  attention  to  our  public 


246 

schools,  and  see  to  it  that  knowledge  shall  not  be 
lacking.  The  value  that  education  will  be  to  the 
citizen,is  admirably  outlined  by  Thomas  Jefferson, 
in  the  following  words  used  in  setting  iorth  the 
purposes  of  education. 

I 

X-  Education  is  intended  : 

1.  "To  give  every  citizen  the  information  he 
needs  for  the  transaction  of  his  own  business. 

2.  "  To  enable  him  to  calculate  for  himself,  and 
to  express  and  preserve  his  ideas,  his  contracts  and 
accounts  in  writing. 

3.  uTo   improve,  by   reading,   his   morals   and 
faculties. 

4.  "  To  understand  his  duties  to  his  neighbors 
and  country,  and  to  discharge  with  competence  the 
functions  confided  to  him  by  either. 

5.  "  To  know  his  rights ;  to  exercise  with  order 
and  justice  those  he  retains ;  to  choose  with  discre- 
tion the  fiduciary  of  those  he  delegates ;  and  to  no- 
tice their  conduct  with  diligence,  with  candor  and 
judgment.    And  in  general  to  observe  with  intel- 
ligence and   faithfulness   all   the   social   relations 
under  which  he  shall  be  placed." 

In  order  to  insure  the  education  of  the  masses, 
the  following  steps  must  be  taken: 

I.  The  Negroes  must  be  stimulated  to  acquire 
taxable  values  to  such  an  extent  that  the  Southern 
States  shall  not  administer  the  school  funds  for  the 


247 

Negroes  with  the  feeling  that  they  are  making  a 
charitable  donation  to  the  race. 

2.  Night  schools  must  be  fostered  for  adults. 

3.  Money  must  be  provided  for  the  lengthening 
of  the  school  term. 

4.  Salaries  for  teaching  must  be  raised  that  a 
high  order  of  talent  may  be  the  more  easily  en- 
listed. 

5.  Books  must  be  supplied  to  the  children  too 
poor  to  buy. 

6.  Means  must  be  instituted  to  prevent  the  too 
common   habit  of    withdrawing  the    Negro    child 
from  school  at  so  early  an  age  to  help  support  the 
family.     These  and  such   other  measures  as  close 
scrutiny  may  from   time  to  time  suggest  must  be 
employed  to  make  the  public  school  system  among 
the  Negroes  what  it  ought  to  be. 

j* 

IN  THE  UPPER  REALMS. 

IT  is  not  enough  to  provide  elementary  training 
for  our  people.  The  great  minds  of  earth 
choose  the  devious  pathways  to  be  threaded  by  the 
wavering  feet  of  humanity.  They  pass  upon 
what  is  true  and  what  is  false,  what  is  right  and 
what  is  wrong,  what  is  expedient  and  what  is  inex- 
pedient. Tremendous  is  the  influence  that  has 
been  exerted  on  human  history  by  the  teachings  of 
the  great. 


248  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

Through  the  training  of  the  intellect  the  Ne- 
groes must  develop  men  capable  of  interpreting 
and  influencing  world  movements,  men  able  to  ad- 
just the  race  to  any  new  conditions  that  may  arise. 
We  need  men  to  do  for  the  Negro  race  what  Prof. 
Henry  Drummond  sought  to  do  for  the  Christian 
religion.  In  the  upper  chamber  of  the  house  of 
human  knowledge,  the  congress  of  scientists  pre- 
sided over  by  Charles  Darwin,  and  representing 
the  culture  of  the  ages,  met  to  promulgate  a  new 
religion  ;  a  religion  that  would  establish  Nature  as 
our  ethical  teacher,  pointing  with  the  finger  of  evo- 
lution, the  way  for  man  to  go.  By  dint  of  patient, 
faithful  labor  and  notable  achievements  in  the  realm 
of  science,  Prof.  Drummond  secured  admittance 
into  this  upper  chamber  and  took  his  seat  at  the 
council  table.  Soon  the  world  heard  his  voice  pro- 
claiming in  the  tone  of  one  speaking  with  author- 
ity that  the  new  revelations  of  science  contained 
no  poison  for  Christianity;  that  the  new  teacher, 
Nature,  was  the  friend,  not  the  enemy,  of  the  old 
teacher,  the  Bible.  He  declared  that  Evolution 
and  Christianity  have  "the  same  author,  the  same 
end  and  the  same  spirit." 

Thus  Drummond  was  on  hand  to  seek  to  stay 
the  Darwinian  hand,  if,  after  shattering  other  con- 
ceptions, it  had  attempted  to  demolish  the  one 
worship  that  modern  civilization  has  thus  far  failed 
to  destroy. 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  249 

To  prepare  Negroes  for  taking  care  of  our  inter- 
ests in  the  realms  of  highest  thought,  our  racial 
organization  must  found  universities,  liberally  en- 
dow scholarships,  provide  equipments  for  original 
investigations  and  so  foster  the  cause  of  higher  ed- 
ucation that  no  race  can  boast  of  superior  intellec- 
tual attainments. 


"  OF  MAKING  MANY  BOOKS  THERE  IS  NO  END." 

OOKS  are  the  means  by  which  each  successive 


generation  comes  into  possession  of  the  best 
(of  which  the  records  have  been  kept)  that  was 
wrought  during  all  preceding  generations  of  human 
endeavor.  Not  only  does  the  art  of  printing  thus 
connect  with  all  that  was  good  in  the  past,  but  it 
also  affords  a  man  the  opportunity  of  becoming  a 
part  of  all  that  is  being  done  in  his  day. 

In  view  of  these  considerations  it  is  evident  that 
a  race  that  does  not  read  must  ever  be  a  laggard 
race.  Our  racial  organization  must,  therefore, 
found  libraries  throughout  the  regions  in  which 
Negroes  dwell,  to  the  end  that  we  may  have  the 
benefit  of  all  the  elevating  influences  of  good  lit- 
erature. 

Our  problem  is,  however,  deeper  than  the  mere 
founding  of  libraries,  as  is  apparent  from  the  fol- 
lowing considerations:  During  their  sojourn  in 
America  the  great  majority  of  Negroes  have  had 


256  DORXAN'S 

such  work  assigned  to  them  as  required  much  bod- 
ily exercise.  But  a  comparatively  few  have  led 
sedentary  lives.  The  laboring  Negroes  have  been 
accustomed  to  sing  as  they  worked  or  have  relieved 
the  monotony  of  their  labors  by  jovial  bantering. 
The  occupations  of  a  race  eventually  make  them- 
selves felt  in  more  or  less  marked  racial  character- 
istics. 

Thus,  when  a  cotton  factory  was  established  re- 
cently to  be  operated  by  Negro  labor,  it  failed,  the 
manager  assigning  as  a  partial  cause  thereof  the 
fact  that  the  Negroes  did  not  make  the  best  opera- 
tives, in  that  sitting  still  and  being  quiet  caused 
them  to  be  rather  listless  and  sleepily  inclined. 
While,  in  other  instances,  tendencies  in  that  direc- 
tion have  perhaps  been  overcome^  this  one  case 
serves  to  suggest  that  the  inattention  to  reading  on 
the  part  of  so  many  may  be  traceable  to  the  same 
inherited  indisposition  to  sit  still  and  be  quiet, 
necessary  concomitants  of  the  reading  habit. 

Our  racial  organization  must  not,  therefore,  feel 
that  its  labors  are  complete  when  the  libraries  are 
founded.  Systematic  efforts  must  be  put  forth  to 
create  in  our  people  a  thirst  for  reading  so  that 
they  may  have  ears  to  hear  what  the  past  and  pres- 
ent are  thundering  at  us. 


PLAN.  25! 


WE  EAT  TO  LIVE. 

'ROWEVBR  brave,  brilliant  and  resourceful  a 
•*  '  general  commanding  an  army  may  be,  how- 
ever loyal  and  enthusiastic  are  his  soldiers,  he  must 
inevitably  fail  if  he  neglects  his  commissary  de- 
partment. The  cravings  of  the  human  stomach 
must  be  provided  for  or  there  will  be  no  soul  left 
in  the  emaciated  body  to  aspire  for  higher  things. 

In  arranging,  therefore,  for  the  welfare  of  the 
race  our  racial  organization  must  not  neglect  the 
material  needs  of  our  people.  An  advancing  army 
must  protect  at  all  hazzards  its  base  of  supplies. 
We  now  outline  a  course  of  action  in  keeping  with 
this  thought. 

The  man  who  knows  that  there  is  a  preju- 
dice against  him,  owes  it  to  himself  to  so  con- 
trive that  he  shall  be  as  nearly  as  possible  inde- 
pendent of  the  workings  of  this  prejudice.  Ne- 
groes, therefore,  should,  in  the  main,  seek  those 
callings  in  which  they  shall  be  above  the  whims 
and  prejudices  of  men. 

The  land  owner,  the  farmer,  can  come  as  near  to 
being  independent  of  his  fellows  as  a  man  may  in 
these  days  attain.  The  sun,  the  elements,  the  soil, 
his  own  strong  arm,  are  his  chief  reliance  and  these 
forces  are  not  subject  to  enslavement,  nor  can  preju- 
dice weaken  them.  Nature  has  no  favorites  among 
men.  The  rains  fall  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust 
alike.  Back  to  the  farms,  therefore,  should  in  a 


252  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

large  measure  be  our  cry.  With  a  strong  agricul- 
tural backbone  the  position  of  the  race  is  much 
the  more  secure.  The  conditions  that  operated  to 
cause  the  Negroes  to  so  largely  abandon  the  farms 
must  be  studied  and  altered  when  possible. 

Our  racial  organization  shall  give  due  recogni- 
tion to  the  following  needs,  doing  all  that  is  nec- 
essary to  see  that  they  are  attained  : 

1.  The  Negro  must  become  the  owner  of  the  soil 
he  tills. 

2.  He  must  be  placed  above  the  conditions  of 
dire   necessity  that   causes   him    to   resort   to  the 
credit  system   of   buying  and  the  mortgaging  of 
his  crops,  which  things  have  hitherto  wrought  his 
ruin. 

3.  Provisions  must  be  made  whereby  he  may 
secure  modern  appliances  with  which  to  farm. 

4.  He  must  be  educated  so  that  he  may  know 
how  to  obtain  the  best  possible  results  from  the 
soil. 

5.  He  must  be  taught  to  keep  fully  posted  upon 
the  important  happenings  in  the  commercial  world 
bearing  upon  his  interests. 

6.  The  Negro  must  join  hands  with  the  students 
of   the  agricultural   problem  in  general,  icady  to 
avail  himself  of  any  new  developments  of  value 
that  may  arise. 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  253 

LITTLE  AFRICAS. 

IN  practically  every  Southern  city  there  are  cer- 
tain sections  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by 
the  poorer,  shiftless,  more  ignorant  class  of  Ne- 
groes. The  houses  in  these  Negro  settlements  are 
small,  dilapidated  and  often  situated  in  marshy  re- 
gions. The  streets  or  alleys  thereof  are  narrow  and 
crooked  and  destitute  of  drainage.  In  such  sections 
barrooms  thrive,  gambling  dens  flourish,  and  gath- 
ering places  are  afforded  for  lewd  women  and  vi- 
cious men.  By  day  Negro  women  in  filthy,  unbe- 
coming attire,  barefooted  and  bareheaded,  congre- 
gate in  the  street  and  engage  in  loud,  unseemly 
talk.  Idle  Negro  men  are  to  be  seen  lounging 
around  these  settlements.  Garbage  is  emptied  into 
the  streets  there  to  remain.  Such  settlements  as 
these  breed  disease  and  are  menaces  to  the  health 
of  the  cities.  They  are  the  places  where  crimes 
and  criminals  of  all  kinds  are  developed.  They  mar 
the  beauty  of  the  cities  and  keep  down  the  price  of 
real  estate  in  their  neighborhoods.  They  do  much 
to  bring  the  whole  Negro  race  into  disrepute.  A 
revolution  must  be  wrought  in  these  settlements  at 
all  hazards.  The  more  refined  among  the  Negroes 
must  be  employed  to  labor  among  the  masses  and 
thus  ameliorate  the  ills  herein  set  forth.  Tracts  of 
land  should  be  purchased  just  beyond  corporate 
limits,  in  easy  access  to  the  business  centers.  Com- 
modious houses  should  be  constructed  and  sold  to 
the  Negroes  at  moderate  prices  and  on  easy  terms. 


254  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

"  YE  HAVE  THE  POOR  WITH  YOU  ALWAYS." 

E  earnings  of  the  Negroes  being  small,  the} 
have  but  little  opportunity  to  accumulate  a 
surplus  for  old  age  and  decrepitude.  This  evil  is 
accentuated  by  improvidence.  So  long  as  these 
conditions  exist,  there  must  be  aged  Negroes  una- 
ble to  take  care  of  themselves.  For  these  homes 
should  be  established. 

Orphan  Asylums  are  sadly  needed  and  must  be 
provided  for  the  tens  of  thousands  of  young  cast 
adrift  annually  through  the  deaths  of  impover- 
ished parents.  At  present  youthful  Negro  offend- 
ers are  sent  to  prisons  where  they  are  in  daily 
contact  with  hardened  criminals.  Reformatories 
must  be  established  where  these  beginners  in  crime 
may  be  lured  from  the  paths  of  vice,  instead  of  be- 
ing the  better  educated  for  evil  as  at  present. 

Comparisons  unfavorable  to  the  Negro  have  been 
so  often  instituted  that  the  passion  for  appearing  as 
well  or  better  than  the  whites  has  taken  hold  of 
many.  Living  side  by  side  with  a  wealthy  rival 
race,  the  Negro  often  overstrains  himself  in  an  en- 
deavor to  keep  well  in  sight  of  the  white  man. 
As  outgrowths  of  this  condition  their  church 
houses,  very  often,  their  dwellings,  the  furnishings 
for  their  homes,  their  dress  are  wont  to  cost  more 
than  their  earnings  would  warrant.  There  are 
money-seeking  men  who  have  discovered  the 
depths  of  this  desire  of  the  Negro  to  appear  welj. 


DORXAN'S  PLAN.,  255 

They  have  formed  loan  companies  and  accept 
mortgages  on  all  sorts  of  possessions  of  the  Ne- 
groes and  exact  rates  of  interest  that  are  astound- 
ing. 

Dealers  in  various  lines  of  ware  do  not  hesitate 
to  sell  to  the  Negroes  the  most  costly  articles  on 
the  installment  plan,  taking  care  to  place  charges 
thereon  far  above  their  real  value.  Thus  the 
meagre  earnings  of  the  race  are  so  largely  ab- 
sorbed in  the  manner  indicated.  It  means  perpet- 
ual poverty  to  the  masses  unless  corrected. 

Negroes  must  be  taught  to  live  simply,  in  keep- 
ing with  their  financial  condition.  Penny  saving 
banks  must  everywhere  be  established,  and  forces 
set  to  work  to  urge  the  Negroes  to  save  their  money, 
thus  counteracting  the  influence  of  the  myriad 
loan  offices  that  tempt  them  to  their  financial 
ruin. 

^ 

THE  WINDS  HAVE  VEERED. 

E  age  in  which  we  live  is  fast  shifting  from 
a  basis  in  which  brute  force  is  a  great  factor, 
to  one  in  which  skill  and  intelligence  are  the 
prime  essentials.  The  day  of  the  man  who  has 
naught  to  offer  save  his  native  strength  is  fast 
drawing  to  a  close,  and  his  night  is  all  but  upon 
us. 

The  general  refinement  of  taste  requiring  a 
Jiigher  order  of  intelligence  to  satisfy  it ;  the  in- 


256 

ventive  genius  of  man  bringing  into  use  compli- 
cated machinery — these  are  influences  at  work 
rendering  necessary  a  greater  measure  of  skill  and 
a  higher  order  of  intelligence  in  the  modern  la- 
borer. 

If  the  Negro  would  not  be  lost  in  the  shift  of 
the  age,  he  must  be  trained  with  a  view  to  the 
requirements  of  modern  civilization.  To  this  end 
Technological  schools  must  be  established  through- 
out the  South  and  other  centers  of  Negro  labor. 

ji 
"THE  FIELD  IS  THE  WORLD." 

CHE  Negroes  have  evinced  a  keen  desire  for 
education,  until  now  there  are  more  educated 
young  men  and  women  than  there  is  congenial 
labor  for  them.  The  schools  have  sent  them  forth 
far  faster  than  conditions  have  permitted  them  to 
be  absorbed. 

The  Negro  parent  that  has  to  submit  to  great  pri- 
vations to  educate  his  child,  viewing  education 
from  the  simple  standpoint  of  its  ability  to  afford  a 
livelihood,  has  now  under  consideration  the  advisa- 
bility of  continuing  his  effort  to  educate  his  off- 
spring. The  pupil,  confronted  with  so  many  of  his 
fellows  that  have  gone  through  school  and  failed  of 
.congenial  employment,  is  inclined  to  lay  down  his 
books  and  bring  his  school  days  to  a  close.  To 
relieve  this  very  annoying  congestion,  Negroes 
must  invade  all  the  avenues  of  trade  and  found  en- 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  257 

terprises  that  will  give  employment  to  the  trained 
members  of  the  race.  The  labor  of  the  race  is 
fully  able  to  sustain  all  branches  of  endeavor  inci- 
dent to  civilized  life. 

Simultaneous  with  this  development  of  the  home 
field,  Puerto  Rico,  Cuba,  Hawaii,  the  Philippines 
and  Africa  must  be  utilized  to  relieve  this  conges- 
tion. 

The  well  equipped  young  men  and  women  must 
be  inoculated  with  more  of  the  pioneer  spirit. 

4 
WHERE  THE  GALE  BLOWS  FIERCEST. 

XN  labor,  business,  social  and  religious  circles,  a 
citizen  is  at  liberty  to  avoid  contact  with  an 
undesirable  neighbor .  if  he  so  elects.  As  these 
constitute  the  bulk  of  the  activities  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  the  normal  relation  of  the  Negroes  and 
whites  is  a  peaceful  one.  But  there  are  points 
where  contact  is  unavoidable. 

We  have  a  common  political  structure,  common 
courts  and  common  public  utilities.  At  these 
points  all  citizens  must  meet  and  such  friction  as 
arises  comes  mainly  from  these  sources.  We  now 
outline  the  program  to  be  carried  out  by  our  racial 
organization  at  these  points,  begining  with  the  bal- 
lot box. 

The  United  States  is  pre-eminently  a  political 
country,  politics  occupying  a  relatively  large  space 


258  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

in  the  public  mind.  With  the  national  thought 
focused  on  politics,  in  that  arena  a  man  is  more 
sorely  tried,  his  powers  put  to  more  severe  tests, 
his  strong  and  his  weak  points  more  clearly  devel- 
oped than  in  any  other  sphere  of  activity.  He 
who  emerges  from  the  galling  fire  of  American 
politics  unscathed,  must  be  accorded  a  crown  of 
unfading  glory. 

To  illustrate  the  ordeal  through  which  one  must 
pass,  we  cite  the  following  comment : 

"  In  turning  over  the  files  of  the  American  press, 
we  read  of  Washington  as  an  embezzler  ;  of  Jefferson 
as  an  atheist,  an  anarchist  and  a  libertine ;  of  Ad- 
ams as  a  tyrant ;  and  of  Jackson  as  a  bully,  a  border 
ruffian  and  an  assassin.  Van  Buren  was  accused  of 
stealing  gold  spoons  from  the  '  White  House.'  The 
stock  epithet  applied  to  President  Lincoln  was  the 
'Illinois  baboon.'  President  Johnson  was  habit^ 
ually  described  as  a  'drunken  boor.'  What  was 
said  by  the  newspapers  of  our  later  Presidents,  from 
General  Grant  to  Mr.  Cleveland,  is  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  every  person  of  mature  age.  How  ut- 
terly insincere  is  all  this  hideous  abuse  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  hushed  into  silence  as  soon 
as  the  object  of  it  passes  out  of  the  political  arena 
into  private  life.  No  breath  of  it  ever  lingers  in 
the  allusions  that  are  thereafter  made  to  him  by 
even  the  bitterest  of  his  late  opponents." 

The  Negro  has  assuredly  received  his  full  meas- 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  *.          259 

ure  of  blows  from  the  hand  of  America's  fhaster  pas- 
sion. When  the  Negro  stepped  into  the  atena  to 
play  his  part  he  had  to  encounter  the  feeling  of  caste, 
which  insisted  that  he  was  inherently  disqualified  to 
enter,  the  claim  being  set  up  that  nature  had  forever 
decreed  against  him  in  this  respect.  He  was  met 
with  violence,  with  fraud,  and  vituperation,  with 
misrepresentation,  with  disregard  for  aft  the  forms 
of  law.  The  votes  which  he  sought  to  cast  in  his 
own  favor  were  boldly  appropriated  to  the  opposi- 
tion. His  cupidity  was  tempted,  his  every  weak- 
ness exploited.  His  virtues  were  minimized  and 
his  shortcomings  exaggerated  and  unduly  paraded. 
This  treatment  of  the  Negro  was  not  necessarily 
special.  It  was  in  keeping  with  the  rules  of  Amer- 
ican politics  in  which  the  Darwinian  law  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  everywhere  obtains. 

In  view  of  the  galling  fire  which  all  partici- 
pants in  America  who  enter  politics  must  encoun- 
ter, our  racial  organization  will  be  confronted  with 
a  serious  task  in  the  formulation  of  the  political 
program  for  the  Negro. 

The  following  suggestions  will  afford  a  basis  for 
the  projecting  of  a  policy  that  will  enable  the  race 
to  take  care  of  itself  at  this,  the  most  crucial, 
the  really  pivotal  point  in  its  battle  for  honorable 
station. 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  must  not  influence 
the  Negro  to  regard  the  political  tree  as  bearing 


260  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

forbidden  fruit,  as  regards  himself.  Such  a  course 
would  be  an  acceptance  of  the  '  class '  system, 
which  is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  American  insti- 
tutions. 

There  is  a  development  that  comes  from  the  con- 
templation of  and  the  participation  in  the  affairs 
of  State.  Much  of  the  superiority  of  the  American 
civilization  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its  citizens  as  a 
body  are  treated  as  sovereigns,  educated  with  a 
view  to  the  fact  that  they  are  to  pass  upon  most 
grave  and  intricate  problems. 

Again,  as  an  encouragement  to  civic  virtues  the 
Negro  youth,  like  other  youths,  must  be  allowed 
to  feel  that  the  social  group  which  he  is  expected 
to  serve,  is  permitted  to  reward  him  if  his  faithful- 
ness to  the  needs  of  the  group  justify  such  a  course. 
Thus  the  political  door,  through  which  a  man  en- 
ters to  receive  rewards  from  the  State  acting  as  a 
body,  must  never  be  closed  to  the  Negro.  Far  be 
it  from  the  Negroes  to  ever  yield  so  vital  a  point. 
Instead  of  counselling  retirement  from  politics, 
our  racial  organization  is  to  arrange  for  a  wiser 
participation  therein. 

The  manner  of  the  emancipation  of  the  Negro 
was  most  unfortunate  indeed.  It  should  have  come 
from  the  nation  as  a  whole,  or  should  have  been 
the  direct  result  of  the  Negro's  own  efforts,  if  he 
was  to  begin  his  career  as  a  citizen  under  ideal  cir- 
cumstances. As  it  is,  he  has  been  caused  to  feel 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  261 

that  he  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  one  party,  so 
great  as  to  constitute  a  perpetual  mortgage.  The 
Negro  must  shake  himself  loose  from  all  such  feel- 
ings if  he  is  to  be  a  true  citizen.  He  must  put  the 
nation  above  the  party  even  if  that  party  is  accred- 
ited with  having  done  him  a  personal  service.  Nor 
must  he  be  influenced  by  hatred  of  the  party  that 
in  the  past  was  associated  with  his  humiliation. 

When  our  national  government  was  but  begin- 
ning its  career  in  the  family  of  nations,  George 
Washington  warned  it  against  the  undue  cultiva- 
tion of  love  and  hatred.  Said  he  in  his  farewell  ad- 
dress : 

u  Cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all.  Noth- 
ing is  more  essential  than  that  permanent,  invet- 
erate antipathies  against  particular  nations  and  pas- 
sionate attachments  for  others  should  be  excluded, 
and  that  iu  place  of  them  just  and  amicable  feel- 
ings toward  all  should  be  cultivated.  The  nation 
which  indulges  toward  another  an  habitual  hatred 
or  an  habitual  fondness  is  in  some  degree  a  slave. 
It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity  or  its  affection,  either 
of  which  is  sufficient  to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty 
and  its  interest." 

He  could  say  this  and  desire  its  application  to 
both  England  and  France,  though  the  former  had 
fought  against  and  the  latter  for  the  establishment 
of  the  republic. 

Our  racial  organization  must  teach  the  Negro 


262  DORXAN'S  PLAN. 

to  observe  this  rule  with  regard  to  all  existing  po- 
litical parties.  Let  an  unbiased  study  of  present 
and  prospective  policies  influence  party  affiliations, 
rather  than  love  and  hatred  based  upon  a  past  for- 
ever dead. 

It  is  not  wise  for  the  Negroes  to  aspire  to  exer- 
cise political  influence  in  proportion  to  mere  num- 
bers with  a  view  to  securing  race  trinmphs.  Good 
government,  pure  and  simple,  and  not  race  suprem- 
acy, must  be  the  end  forever  sought.  The  right 
to  rule  must  be  accorded  to  the  intelligence,  to  the 
moral  and  material  worth  of  every  community  as 
ascertained  with  regard  to  the  whole  body  of  the 
people,  whites  and  Negroes.  No  man  white  or 
black  must  be  supported  or  opposed  on  account  of 
his  color. 

The  ranks  of  the  Negroes  must  cease  to  be  the 
place  of  refuge  and  the  means  of  power  for  the 
renegade  weaklings  from  the  camps  of  the  whites, 
whose  only  impelling  motive  is  greed  for  the 
emoluments  of  office,  and  whose  only  recommenda- 
tion H  the  color  of  the  skin.  The  white  face 
in  Negro  ranks  must  cease  to  bring  a  premium 
with  the  Negroes.  That  face,  like  all  others, 
must  be  adjudged  purely  upon  its  merits.  The 
Negroes  must  convince  the  better  element  of 
Southern  whites  that  they  will  not  take  up  and 
honor  worthless  white  men  rightfully  cast  off  or 
denied  distinction  in  and  by  their  own  race. 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  263 

Again,  the  Negroes  must  not  center  their  politi- 
cal activities  on  the  mere  holding  of  offices.  The 
office  is  not  always  the  real  seat  of  political  power. 
In  American  politics  it  is  sometimes  the  political 
boss,  sometimes  the  party  caucus,  sometimes  the 
committee  of  the  law-making  body,  that  is  the 
actual  determining  factor  in  matters. 

The  Negro  must  make  a  study  of  the  larger 
needs  of  the  people  and  persist  in  making  himself 
felt  at  the  most  effective  point.  Though  n  j»t  hold- 
ing office  himself  he  may  yet  exert  a  wholesome  in- 
fluence on  the  man  that  does,  if  he  but  act  wisely. 

It  is  said  of  American  politics  as  a  whole,  that 
the  best  citizens  are  too  largely  holding  aloof.  It 
is  urged  that  the  law  making  bodies  do  not  any 
longer  represent  the  highest  mental  and  moral  de- 
velopment of  the  people.  Even  if  the  good  and 
strong  of  other  groups  of  Americans  are  adopting 
such  a  course,  the  better  element  of  Negroes  cannot 
afford  to  follow  the  example. 

The  interests  of  the  race  in  matters  political 
must  not  be  left  to  those  least  qualified  for  the  re- 
sponsibilities. Men,  good  and  true,  the  ablest  of 
the  race,  must  be  induced  to  make  the  necessary 
sacrifices  and  enter  politics  with  a  view  to  taking 
care  at  this  point  of  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the 
race.  Unworthy  and  incompetent  men  in  the  race 
must  be  given  a  back  seat,  and  their  influence 
neutralized  in  political  affairs,  the  place  where  we 


264  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

are  peculiarly  on  trial,  and  where  so  much  may  be 
won  or  lost. 

Finally,  knowing  that  our  hereditary  influences 
and  environments  in  the  past  were  not  such  as 
were  best  adapted  to  preparing  a  people  tempera- 
mentally for  self-government ;  knowing  that  Amer- 
ica is  infested  with  a  strong  color  prejudice  ;  know- 
ing that  the  Negro's  own  record  as  a  voter  aud 
lawmaker  is  not  altogether  in  his  own  favor ; 
knowing  the  difficulties  that  naturally  arise  from 
the  attempts  to  blend  such  widely  divergent  race 
types  into  a  common  political  life  ;  knowing  how 
galling  is  the  fire  upon  any  one  who  has  the  te- 
merity to  enter  the  arena  of  American  politics ; 
knowing  these  things,the  guiding  star  of  the  Negro, 
the  ligrt  from  which  his  eye  must  never  wander} 
is  Caution.  Others  with  less  to  lose  may  "  play 
the  game  of  politics  "  lightly,  but  the  Negro  must 
give  to  the  task  the  highest  there  is  in  him. 

That  the  policy  herein  set  forth  may  be  carried 
out;  that  the  Negro  may  be  prepared  to  demean  him- 
self nobly  in  the  maelstrom  of  American  politics,our 
racial  organization  shall  create  a  non-partisan  bu- 
reau that  shall  thoroughly  educate  the  Negro  as  to 
his  own  history  ;  as  to  the  history  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race ;  as  to  our  form  of  government  ;  as  to 
our  political  parties ;  as  to  all  the  problems  con- 
fronting our  nation  ;  as  to  the  predominating  racial 
instincts  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  which  are  often 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  265 

in  reality  more  of  a  governing  force  with  us  than 
mere  written  laws, 


WITH  THE  HEN  GOES  HER  BROOD. 

'ITH  the  adjustment  of  the  political  question 
will  come  an  era  of  good  feeling  which  will 
operate  to  ameliorate  other  conditions. 

The  Negro  complains  that  the  courts  of  the 
South  are  arrayed  against  him;  that  he  does  not  re- 
ceive there  the  treatment  accorded  to  other  citi- 
zens. So  much  of  this  as  is  true  is  traceable  to 
the  fact  that  the  courts  are  at  present  sustained  by 
the  same  race  feeling  which  has  for  its  end  the 
suppression  of  the  Negro. 

When  the  Negro  again  becomes  a  political  fac- 
tor and  the  court  is  made  amenable  to  Negro  pub- 
lic sentiment  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity, care  will  then  be  taken  that  evenhanded 
justice  is  meted  out  to  all.  Under  such  conditions 
the  Negroes  and  white  men  of  the  South  will  be 
in  a  frame  of  mind  to  meet  and  join  hands  for  the 
protection  of  womanhood,  for  the  suppression  of 
lynching,  for  the  extirpation  of  criminality  in 
general. 

Chief  among  the  reforms  to  be  inaugurated  will 
be  the  improvement  of  the  very  deplorable  prison 
systems,  which  being  operated  with  a  view  to  pro- 
ducing revenue,  are  a  blot  upon  our  civilization. 


266  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

When  better  feelings  prevail,  the  laws  regulating 
public  utilities  will  be  such  as  conform  to  the  de- 
sires of  the  best  citizens  of  all  races. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  many  of  the  ills  that 
ramified  the  whole  of  Southern  life  were  generated 
from  the  strife  that  had  its  origin  at  the  ballot  box. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE  OTHER  MAN. 


our  racial  organization  thus  laboring  to 
prepare  the  race  to  meet  the  highest  require- 
ments of  civilization,  the  subjective  phase  of  the 
problem  is  provided  for,  and  we  may  now  direct 
our  attention  to  extrinsic  factors,  the  forces  with- 
out, that  must  be  reckoned  with. 

In  the  midst  of  the  study  of  our  problem,  our 
racial  organization  must  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that 
the  Southern  white  man  h  s  his  problem.  He  is 
the  lineal  descendant  of  the  builders  of  our  civiliza- 
tion. We  are  heirs  thereof  by  adoption;  the  South- 
ern white  man  by  birth.  It  must  be  assumed  that 
the  instincts  that  make  possible  our  civilization 
are  more  deeply  written  in  his  nature  than  in  that 
of  the  Negro.  To  him  primarily,  therefore,  is  com- 
mitted the  task  of  preserving  in  the  Southland 
characteristic  Americanism.  Thus  while  benefiting 
by  the  many  noble  traits  which  the  Negro  brings, 
the  Southern  white  man  must  yet  resist  whatever 


DORIAN'S  PLAN.  267 

Africanizing  tendencies  that  anywhere  show  them- 
selves. Such  is  the  Southern  white  man's  problem. 

There  are  Negroes  that;  can  meet  every  test  of 
civilization,  while  there  are  others  upon  whom  resi- 
dence in  America  has  wrought  but  feebly.  The 
Southern  white  man  closes  the  door  in  the  face  of 
the  prepared  Negro,  holding  that  to  do  otherwise 
would  mean  the  influx  of  an  uncontrollable  mass 
of  the  unprepared.  He  also  states  that  coercive 
methods  are  necessary  to  preserve  in  the  South  the 
Anglo-Saxon  flavor  to  our  civilization. 

The  virile  elements  in  all  communities  are  in 
duty  bound  to  draw  the  weaker  ones  up  to  them- 
selves, but  indiscriminate  repression  and  coercion 
are  not  the  proper  means  to  be  employed  in  these 
modern  times.  The  weak  are  to  be  elevated 
through  the  superior  forces  known  to  mind  and 
morals. 

It  is  far  better  for  the  South  and  for  the  nation 
that  the  shortcomings  of  the  Negro  be  conquered 
J)y  excellencies,  than  that  they  should  be  left  as 
a  constantly  rising  flood  tide  destined  to  over- 
leap all  walls  whatsoever,  carrying  devastation 
that  many  generations  will  be  taxed  to  repair. 
The  white  man  of  the  South  must  be  aided  in  his 
work  by  the  people  of  the  whole  land.  In  view  of 
what  is  required  of  them,  the  white  people  of  the 
South  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  more  highly  and  more 
generally  educated  than  those  of  any  other  section 
of  the  country,  whereas  the  percentage  of  illiteracy 


268  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

among  them  is  greater  than  it  is  in  any  othei 
section. 

Our  racial  organization  must  encourage  the 
philanthropists  of  the  world  to  remember  the  white 
people  of  the  South  in  the  distribution  of  their 
wealth  for  benevolent  purposes.  When  education 
is  more  general  in  the  South  and  the  white  people 
are  conscious  that  as  an  aggregation  they  represent 
a  higher  degree  of  power,  they  will  feel  the  more 
inclined  to  abandon  the  policy  of  force,  and  proceed 
with  the  work  of  intellectually  assimilating  the 
Negroes  whom  they  have  hitherto  thrust  out. 
When  thus  equipped  the  good  and  strong  in  the 
South  will  coalesce  and  rule  by  the  sheer  force  of 
superior  worth,  which  is  the  only  method  coun- 
tenanced by  truly  civilized  peoples. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that,  in  the  interests  of  a 
composite  American  civilization,  it  is  desirable  that 
the  Negro  be  imbued  with  many  of  the  qualities  of 
the  white  man,  care  should  be  taken  that  the 
Negro  population  be  so  diffused  throughout  the 
country,  that  no  section  of  the  white  race  shall 
have  more  work  of  this  character  than  it  can  well 
perform.  Our  racial  organization  shall  therefore 
establish  an  emigration  bureau,  that  shall  drain  off 
unduly  congested  regions  and  locate  Negroes  in 
more  desirable  localities.  This  lightening  of  the 
burdens  of  some  places,  coupled  with  the  program 
of  more  extended  education,  will  aid  the  Southern 
white  man  to  do  what  the  world  expects  of  him, 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  269 

namely,  preserve  his  own  strong  parts  and  impart 
strength  to,  not  repress,  the  weak. 

Thus  less  and  less  grow  the  essential  elements 
of  the  problem  as  the  great  bulk  of  the  Negroes 
measure  up  to  the  standard  of  the  ideal  citizen  and 
the  Southern  white  man  is  the  better  prepared  to 
shoulder  the  responsibility  that  attaches  to  the  post 
of  seniority  in  the  civilization  under  which  we  live. 

& 

OUR   LAST   FOE. 

HEN  all  essential  factors  in  the  situation 
have  been  cancelled  our  racial  organization 
will  find  that  there  remains  to  be  overthrown  pride 
of  race,  prejudice  and  self-interest.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  has  so  long  enjoyed  the  thought  of  su- 
periority over  the  Negro,  that  there  will  be  those  to 
oppose  the  unfettering  of  the  Negro  through  the 
sheer  force  of  race  pride.  There  will  be  others  who 
will  continue  in  opposition,  as  a  result  of  prejudice, 
for  which  they  can  assign  absolutely  no  reason. 
There  will  still  be  others  who  have  profited  by 
race  antagonisms,  who  have  come  into  place  and 
power  by  their  ability  to  crush  out  Negro  aspira- 
tions. An  era  of  peace  would  rob  this  class  of  an 
occupation,  and  self-interest  will  influence  them  to 
oppose  the  untrammeling  of  the  Negro. 

Against  pride  of  race,  prejudice  and  selfishness, 
then,  our  racial  organization  will  find  itself  pitted 
in  the  last  instance. 


270  DORIAN'S  PLAN. 

Here,  again,  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  situation 
that  calls  for  somewhat  of  a  change  of  front  on  the 
part  of  the  Negro.  In  the  days  of  slavery  the  Ne- 
gro who  sought  for  freedom  fixed  his  eye  upon  the 
"  North  Star"  and  journeyed  thitherward.  When 
freedom  at  last  came  to  the  Negro  in  the  South  it 
came  from  Northern  climes.  His  mind  has 
grown  accustomed  to  looking  to  forces  external  to 
the  South  to  bring  him  his  desires. 

Enlightened  communities  are  in  great  measure 
self-governing,  and  too  much  reliance  must  not 
be  placed  on  foreign  forces.  The  Negro  must 
more  largely  seek  to  utilize  forces  present  in  the 
Southland.  There  are  broadminded  men  there 
that  are  able  to  rise  above  all  considerations  of 
pride,  prejudice  and  selfishness,  and  deal  with  all 
men  according  to  the  mandates  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

Our  racial  organization  must  form  an  alliance 
with  such  white  neighbors — must  labor  with  them 
in  matters  looking  to  the  highest  interests  of  our 
common  country.  As  evidence  that  there  is  a 
possibility  of  such  an  alliance,  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing from  "  The  Washington  Post,"  a  leading  news- 
paper in  the  nation's  capital,  and  a  recognized  cham- 
pion of  Southern  interests  :  "  So  far  as  we  are 
concerned — and  we  believe  that  the  best  element 
of  the  South  in  every  State  will  sustain  our  prop- 
osition— we  hold  that,  as  between  the  ignorant  of 
the  two  races,  the  Negroes  are  preferable,  They 


DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

are  conservative  ;  they  are  good  citizens  ;  they  take 
no  stock  in  social  schisms  and  vagaries  ;  they  do 
not  consort  with  anarchists;  they  cannot  be  made 
the  tools  and  agents  of  incendiaries.  *  *  * 
Their  influence  in  government  would  be  infinitely 
more  wholesome  than  the  influence  of  the  white 
sansculotte,  the  riffraff,  the  idlers,  the  rowdies, 
and  the  outlaws." 


MIGHTIER  THAN  THE  SWORD. 


paying  strict  attention  to  our  home  in- 
fluences,we  must  not  be  unmindful  of  the  out- 
side world.  If  we  can  bring  to  bear  upon  the  local 
situation  the  moral  support  of  other  sections  of  our 
country  and  of  other  civilized  lands,  our  travel  in 
the  direction  sought  will  be  the  faster.  One  of  the 
chief  labors  of  our  racial  organization  will  be  to 
lay  the  case  of  the  Negro  upon  the  heart  of  the 
world  and  cause  all  humanity  to  lift  a  voice  in  our 
behalf.  As  evidence  that  this  course  is  pregnant 
with  hope,  we  cite  the  following  authorities  : 

Herbert  Spencer  designates  u  the  control  exer- 
cised by  public  sentiment  over  conduct  at  large", 
as  "irresistible."  He  further  says:  "  It  requires 
only  to  contemplate  the  social  code  which  regulates 
life,  down  even  to  the  color  of  an  evening  necktie, 
and  to  note  how  those  who  dare  not  break  this 
qode  have  no  hesitation  in  smuggling,  to  see 


272  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

an  unwritten  law  enforced  by  opinion,  is  more 
peremptory  than  a  written  law  not  so  enforced. 
And  still  more  on  observing  that  men  disregard 
the  just  claims  of  creditors,  who  for  goods  given 
cannot  get  the  money,  while  they  are  anxious  to 
discharge  so-called  debts  of  honor  to  those  who 
have  rendered  neither  goods  nor  services,  we  are 
shown  that  the  control  of  prevailing  sentiment, 
unenforced  by  law  and  religion,  may  be  more  po- 
tent than  law  and  religion  together,  when  they  are 
backed  by  sentiment  less  strongly  manifested. 
Looking  at  the  total  activities  of  men,  we  are 
obliged  to  admit,  that  they  are  still,  as  they  were 
at  the  outset,  guided  by  the  aggregate  feeling,  past 
and  present." 

Huxley  remarks:  "It  is  only  needful  to  look 
around  us  to  see  that  the  greatest  restrainers  of  the 
anti-social  tendencies  of  men  is  fear,  not  of  the 
law,  but  of  the  opinions  of  their  fellows.  The 
conventions  of  honor  bind  men  who  break  legal, 
moral  and  religious  bonds ;  and  while  people  en- 
dure the  extremity  of  pain  rather  than  part  with 
life,  shame  drives  the  weakest  to  suicide." 

Moses,  recognizing  the  influence  of  the  crowd 
even  when  in  the  wrong,  felt  the  necessity  of  im- 
bedding in  the  Jewish  code  this  declaration :  "Thou 
shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil." 

Jesus  Christ  in  projecting  a  world-wide  kingdom 
designates  public  reprobation  as  the  highest  fortn 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  273 

of  punishment  to  be  known  in  his  realm.  "  L,et 
him  be  unto  thee  as  an  heathen  man  and  a  publi- 
can." 

The  exponents  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  of  jus- 
tice, liberty,  equality  and  progress,  have  contended 
most  zealously  for  the  freedom  of  the  press  and 
have  evinced  in  every  way  a  keen  appreciation  of 
the  value  of  this  instrumentality  developed  among 
them  for  the  utilization  of  the  force  of  public  sen- 
timent. In  discussing  the  manner  of  effecting  re- 
sults in  problems  of  the  general  nature  of  ours, 
Benjamin  Kidd  remarks :  "  *  *  *  *  In  like  manner 
the  effect  produced  on  the  minds  of  the  British 
people  by  descriptions  of  the  wrongs  and  suffer- 
ings of  oppressed  nationalities,  has  been  one  of  the 
most  powerful  influences  affecting  the  foreign  pol- 
icy of  England  throughout  the  nineteenth  century; 
and  any  close  student  of  our  politics  during  this 
period  would  have  to  note  that  this  influence,  so 
far  as  the  will  of  the  people  found  expression 
through  the  government  in  power,  has  been  a  fai 
more  potent  factor  in  shaping  that  policy  than  any 
clear  conception  of  those  far  reaching  political 
motives  so  often  attributed  to  the  British  nation 
by  other  countries." 

Resolved  upon  the  enlistment  of  the  enlightened 
sentiment  of  the  world,  our  racial  organization 
must  utilize  the  talent  of  the  race  for  oratory  and 
send  able  men  with  burning  hearts  to  speak  with 


274  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

flaming  tongues  of  such  wrongs  as  the  South  witting- 
ly or  unwittingly  imposes  upon  us.  Negro  newspa- 
pers must  be  supported,  until  their  unquestioned  ex- 
cellence makes  a  way  for  them  into  homes  without 
regard  to  race.  Daily  newspapers  and  magazines, 
favorable  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  race,  must 
be  established  so  that  the  outpourings  of  the  souls 
of  Negro  writers  may  have  better  opportunities  of 
reaching  the  world.  The  poem,  the  novel,  the 
drama  must  be  pressed  into  service.  The  painter, 
the  sculptor,  the  musical  composer  must  plead  our 
cause  in  the  world  of  aesthetics.  The  bird  that 
would  live  must  thrill  the  huntsman  with  its  song. 
With  the  sympathies  of  the  world  thus  enkindled, 
there  are  none  who  would  wish  to  withhold  our 
rights.  Even  a  Cain  cries  out  against  a  situation 
in  which  every  man's  hand  would  be  against  him. 
Our  racial  organization  must  gird  itself  for  the  stu- 
pendous task  of  thus  winning  our  great  battle,  of 
thus  inducing  the  iron  hand  to  relax  its  grasp. 


THE  END  DRAWETH  NIGH. 

SUCH  is  the  program  of  endeavor  to  be  set  be- 
fore our  great  racial  organization.     Local  or- 
ganizations modeled  after  it,  having  in  view  simi- 
lar aims  will  be  created  and  put  in  operation.     It 
is  evident  that  the  task  before  us  involves  the  ex- 


DORLAN'S  PLAN.  275 

penditure  of  enormous  sums  of  money.  It  is  true 
that  the  organization  once  in  operation  would  be 
cheerfully  and  adequately  supported  by  the  Ne- 
groes. But  the  placing  of  it  upon  such  a  basis  as 
will  disclose  its  value  and  secure  devotion  will  re- 
quire great  sums  of  money. 

It  so  happens  that  Africa  has  but  recently  be- 
stowed upon  me,  Dorian  Warthell,  untold  millions. 
I  have  no  qualms  of  conscience  in  thus  applying 
to  the  Negroes  of  America  funds  derived  from 
Africa,  for  I  firmly  believe  with  Mr.  Wm.  T.  Stead 
in  the  Americanization  of  the  globe,  and  believe 
that  in  due  time  the  Negroes  of  America  are  to  be 
the  immediate  agents  of  the  Americanization  of 
Africa.  Money  spent  in  the  uplift  of  the  American 
Negro  is,  therefore,  an  investment  in  the  interests 
of  Africa  that  will  pay  a  glorious  dividend.  Once 
established  our  organization  shall  win  such  a  hold 
on  the  hearts  of  the  Negroes  of  the  world  that  the 
poor  and  the  rich  will  give  unstintedly  for  its 
maintenance.  The  philanthropists  within  the  race 
may  be  confidently  relied  upon  to  do  all  that  may 
be  justly  expected  of  them  in  the  matter. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  state  that  I  have,  after 
a  most  careful  search,  selected  the  men  whose 
names  you  find  appended.  They  constitute  a 
provisional  congress  that  will  superintend  the  for- 
mation of  our  permanent  organization.  The  men. 
chosen  are  noted  for  their  intellectual  acumen, 


276  DORLAN'S  PLAN. 

broad  grasp  of  affairs,  judicial  temperament,  con- 
structive ability,  moral  probity,  and  their  capacity 
for  sustained  endeavor.  Such  are  the  qualities 
that  are  known  to  characterize  the  men  who  have 
been  chosen  to  groom  this  infant  race  to  march  as 
one  man  to  the  drum  beat  of  fate. 

As  I  view  the  matter,  here  lies  before  the  Negro 
a  field  of  endeavor  as  great  as  the  earth  affords.  He 
is  provided  with  a  sphere  of  possible  activity  where- 
in may  be  won  on  American  soil,  as  glorious  a 
crown  as  was  ever  woven  for  human  brow. 

Equipped  with  an  organization  that  can  amass 
the  full  strength  of  the  race;  blessed  with  the  pres- 
ence of  great  minds  now  furnished  with  facilities 
for  the  attainment  of  great  ends;  cheered  by  a  con- 
sciousness of  power ;  aided  by  the  moral  effect 
which  our  racial  unity  and  our  insistent  attitude 
in  the  right  will  produce  ;  moving  forward  unfal- 
teringly in  the  direction  of  all  that  is  true  and 
good,  decisive  results  must  surely  follow. 

Thanks  to  this  plan,  Morlene,  I  can  now  assure 
you  that  the  death  knell  of  the  Negro's  night  has 
been  rung,  the  stars  have  shrunk  bashfully  out  of 
sight,  and  happy  fingers  are  even  now  painting  the 
eastern  sky  a  golden  hue,  a  sure  sign  that  the  dawn 

is  here. 

Yours  humbly, 

DORLAN  WARTHELL. 

THE   END. 


us 


